Outcasts and Rogues: A Message of Light
by SpartAl412
Summary: Tasked with the delivery of a message to a world within the galactic east, an Eldar Ranger finds that what at first seemed like a simple job becomes something far more complicated and far more deadly.
1. Prologue

The wind rushed against his bare face as he tightly held onto the handle of his attack bike. His eyes were closed as he felt that rush of euphoria and exhilaration which would always come during a gloriou mass charge like this. All around him, he could hear the mighty roars of engines as his battle brothers shouted war cries and praises to the Khan and the Emperor.

Opening his eyes, Brother Captain Temurin of the Steel Storms saw the bright yellow sun of this world was shining down upon them. Off in the horizon he watched as the enemy approached, both armies were out of the effective range of each other's guns but in a few moments all that would change. With a snarl of disdain, Temurin searched amongst the enemy lines for their leader.

All he saw were the squadrons of red armoured xenos who appeared as a mass of blurry images. Cowardly aliens, thought the Captain as he and his men drew closer, it mattered little anyway for they were Steel Storms! Descendants of the White Scars and the Primarch Jaghatai Khan! They were Space Marines! The Angels of Death, demigods of war, where they went, victory was assured for the Emperor was-

All of a sudden, the combat bike of Temurin began to jerk about in its movements. Its pristine blue-white paint was now spattered in gore as the Captain's once noble features had been reduced to the grisly stump of a lower jaw. The upper part of his head had exploded in a gruesome shower when a powerful laser bolts had struck his skull.

The now deceased Space Marine captain still held on to his bike's handle with a vice like grip, the biker marines around him were shocked to see the sudden death of their leader but soon there was a sudden series of explosions which struck the bikers at the front of the charge. Several explosives detonated from the ground underneath them, hurling bikes and bodies about in pieces, the Steel Storms then realized that they had just ridden into a minefield.

Already, several of the Space Marines tried to veer way but it was already too late for many of them. Their enemies, the Eldar of Saim-Hann glided onwards with a series of loud cheers as they opened fired upon the Space Marines. The amount of shuriken fire from the Eldar which was combined with volleys of warp lightning from their warlocks and the assorted weaponry of the Vypers proved to be devastating to the Steel Storms whose charge was now broken.

* * *

Upon a cliff, away from the high-speed battle which was unfolding, Ellarian grinned underneath his helmet as he saw the tide turn against the Mon-Keigh. It was an excellent shot he thought, he would not have succeeded were it not for the spell of Guidance from the Saim-Hann Farseer. With a glance towards the Farseer who gave Ellarian a curt nod, the Saim-Hann leader called for his personal transport.

Finding the enemy leader proved to be surprisingly simple, for there was only one Space Marine whose vehicle was so heavily decorated with gold. There was also the fact that the Space Marine leader himself had carried a massive banner on the back of his his back and his armor was significantly more decorated than that of his comrades. The Space Marine commander might as well have been holding up a large sign towards Ellarian which has "shoot me" written on it.

An open topped vehicle soon came towards the cliff, it had the chassis of a Falcon but the top turret had been replaced with a cupola. Upon the cupola, a group of red robed warlocks awaited the Farseer, it was likely that it was intended to allow the Seer and his council a mobile platform from which they could unleash their powers. There was still a battle to be won now and Ellarian knew well enough that making only a single shot would be wasteful.

Removing the spent power cell of his Long Rifle and popping in a new one, he heard the hum of energy as his weapon was ready for another shot. This time, Ellarian sighted down upon another Space Marine, a helmetless officer who also carried a banner upon his back. You all are just making it easy for me, thought Ellarian with amusement as the cross hair of his rifle locked on to the Mon'Keigh.

Adjusting his aim because the target was moving, Ellarian fired another shot and just like the Space Marine leader, the officer's head exploded in a shower of gore. It was going to be a long day thought Ellarian.

* * *

The sun was now setting upon this world and the Wilder Riders of Saim-Hann raised their weapons to the sky in triumph. The helmets of Space Marines dangled from the sides of several of the Jet Bikes, some still dripped with blood, signifying that it was not just a helmet which had been taken. The camp of the Saim-Hann was a typical Craftworld military camp which was composed of various Webway portals.

Several structures were now relocating back into the Webway where they would likely be used in some other battle. As of the Wild Folk themselves though, the kin of Saim-Hann were boasting of their accomplishments while the dead which were thankfully few, were carried with reverence upon anti-gravity biers.

Holding his Long Rifle by the strap which was now over his right shoulder, Ellarian felt a sense of satisfaction for this victory was his as well. Noticing a presence behind him, he turned around to see the Lady Autarch which had led this army. The Autarch was clad in heavy armour and she carried a powered spear which was deactivated at the moment, her ornate, battle scarred helmet had the barrels of two mandiblasters on the sides, clearly the Autarch had once been a Striking Scorpion.

'You have my gratitude Outcast' spoke the Autarch in a genuinely grateful tone. The Autarch removed her helmet to reveal a rather comely faced matron who was probably twice of Ellarian's age. 'You may tell Eorlianeth that Craftworld Saim-Hann appreciates his assistance and care to its people and that we look forward to a continued patronage to the Crescent Wings' she then said as she hooked her helmet on the side of her belt and she extended her free left hand.

Clasping the Autarch's arm bellow the elbow while she did the same, Ellarian had a feeling that the Lady's "friendship" with the Prince was the kind which had… "benefits". With a nod and a respectful bow, Ellarian gave the Lady Autarch the same respect as he would give to one of the Highborn of his own Craftworld 'I will be sure to relay the message to the Prince, My Lady.'

The Lady Autarch nodded to him and bid farewell to the Ranger, she joined the rest of her army as she walked into a webway gate. All around him, the Webway gates which remained were powering down with only the shroud generators remaining active. Looking up to the sky as the sun was setting, Ellarian went towards the Webway gate and back to _Vaul-Anarath._

* * *

Within the botanical garden which served as the "Throne Room" Vaul-Anarath's Palace, Ellarian stood at attention in the presence of Corsair Prince, Eorlianeth Angsar. The Prince languidly laid upon a mound of soft cushions as he was clad in loose robes of golden silk, his hair which was now the colour of midnight black was undone to allow it to flow around his shoulders. In one hand he held a clear, crystal goblet of Exodite wine while the other hand was laid over the shoulder of one his "slaves".

Around the Corsair Prince, the now scantily clad human women which often attended the Prince were also lazily lying down upon the cushions around the Prince. Their bare arms were decorated with fine jewelry of Eldar-craftsmanship and each of them wrapped themselves around the Corsair Prince's body, each piece of the jewelry they wore had the strong possibility of being a cleverly concealed digital weapon. The human females regarded Ellarian coolly with mixed expressions of friendliness or faint interest.

Once Ellarian may have thought this display as of being rather inappropriate and vulgar but after seeing what the Prince's "slaves" could actually do, he felt more than a bit wary. The Ranger now saw the human women as of being more like tamed, predatory animals which were just ready to pounce and strike at him if he were to attempt anything harmful to the Corsair Prince. The fact that he had seen them kill Space Marines in a mêlée fight made reinforced the Ranger's opinion would not wish to start a confrontation with any of them.

'Splendidly done, dear boy' grinned the Corsair Prince in a fatherly tone as he raised his goblet towards Ellarian, one of the slaves handed Ellarian another goblet to which the Outcast took with a word of thanks. 'You know, you are making yourself quite the asset to our merry band' the prince then said as he took a sip of the clear red liquid.

'You honour me, Prince Angsar' Ellarian said with a respectful bow.

'Indeed' The Prince then said with a grin as he gently swirled his goblet. 'At the moment, I have another task for you' he said 'one which I think will prove rather… intriguing.'

'What would you ask of me Prince Angsar?' asked Ellarian with curiosity for he had just arrived back in _Vaul-Anarath_.

'I have a… message which needs to be delivered' he said with his usual cryptic manner. The Prince rose up to a seated position, his slaves still held on to him as their hands gently stroked the body of the older Eldar. Ellarian was not sure what else the Corsair Prince did with his slaves… he probably didn't want to know.

'What sort of message is this?' Ellarian then asked for this would not be the first time since taking up the Path of Outcast where he had to do some courier work.

The prince looked to one of his slaves of whom was shorter, compared to the rest with pale skin and small eyes, the human lifted one of the cushions and produced a crude data-slate of Mon'keigh manufacture. The slave handed the slate to Ellarian who gently took the device. With a curious look at the screen of the device, he saw a brief message written in the script of Imperial Gothic.

He had no idea what the message was, for Ellarian had recently only begun to learn how to speak the crude language of the Imperium. Looking to the Prince with a curious look, the older Eldar explained 'It is coded dear boy, if you could understand, it would seem as merely a message of gratitude.'

'And where will I be taking delivering this message then?' asked Ellarian as he continued to study the data-slate.

'A world called Nussara Seven' replied the Prince as he took a sip from his goblet and he then continued 'in recent passes it has seceded from Imperium in favor of the Tau Empire'.

'A Human world which has joined the Tau Empire?' questioned Ellarian for he has heard of such things happening, yet the mere idea of Mon'Keigh joining an empire ruled by another species was a bit hard for him to believe.

'Oh there was a bloody civil war you know' said the Prince with a smile and an odd look of nostalgia on his face 'the Imperium had lost the planet as well as several regiments of Imperial Guard and even a company of Space Marines during the whole campaign'.

'I see then' nodded Ellarian a bit skeptically 'so where on Nussara do I deliver this message?'

'A place called Jasserus City' answered the Prince 'over there, you will meet a contact named Eisha who you will give the message to, once you are done you are free to return here to Vaul-Anarath… or perhaps you could stay there in Nussara until I have need of you again, do not worry, the humans will not attack if you behave yourself'.

'Sounds simple enough then, I accept this task' nodded Ellarian who felt more than a bit excited at the idea of going to an alien world for he had heard about how the Tau Empire naïvely welcomed many species.

'Good, I had a feeling you would' grinned the prince as he moved his goblet to the side and allowed one of his slaves to refill the container. With gentle clinks from their goblets and a word of good fortune from the Corsair Prince, the Outcast soon left the palace and began making preparations for his latest task.


	2. Arrival on Nussara VII

It was calm and peaceful here, thought the boy as he rested the back of his head upon his hands while lying down underneath the bough of a great tree within the Ghyren memorial park. The cool shade under the tree provided a perfect place for him to take a nice nap.

With a sleepy yawn, the boy heard a sudden loud and sharp sound which interrupted his sleep. Opening his eyes, the boy looked around him and he saw a strange sparkling light which danced in the air. It was not holo-light for sure; it looked more like a ball of electricity which was just floating there.

Curious at this and perhaps more than a bit afraid the boy could not help but watch this strange display. The sparkling light soon began to alter and take a disc-like shape, the disc of light stood there for a moment with its light shining brighter. After a few moments, the boy saw something walk out of the disc of light, it was tall and garbed in a thick looking coat of gold.

The thing that walked out turned its head towards him and the boy saw a pair of baleful red eyes look at him and as suddenly as the thing appeared, it then vanished. Terror began to fill him as he remembered all those scary holo-films he had seen, he remembered that one about an invisible alien monster which hunted men and took their skulls as trophies and leaving them fleshless. Quickly rising up with his heart pounding rapidly, he ran away. The boy did not look back as he screamed at the top of his lungs and thought that something similar was now chasing him.

* * *

With a look of bemusement underneath his helmet, Ellarian saw the human child run away from him. Swiftly surveying the area and seeing that there were no enemies around him, the Ranger felt satisfied that at the moment there were no immediate dangers. Already, his cameleoline cloak had blended him with his surroundings and it would take someone with advanced sensory equipment or psychic abilities to spot him now.

Moving to the side of the Webway portal and behind its arch, he operated a console and deactivated the gate while leaving the Shroud generator on. With a satisfied nod, Ellarian looked up to the sky to see the green canopy of the forest above him and the shining light of this world's suns which breached the canopy of green leaves. In the distance, he could hear the honking sounds made by human civilian vehicles.

Lowering his hood and gently raising his helmet which released a hiss of air, Ellarian began to sniff the air of this world. He picked up the cool and fresh smells of trees, grass and other plants but he had also picked up the disgusting smell of exhaust which often accompanied the vehicles of the Mon'Keigh. Setting his helmet back upon his head, Ellarian could not help feel a bit terrified and excited.

During his travels, he had been to the settlements of the Exodites, Haven Spires of fellow Outcasts and even to the Webway city of Khai-dazhaar. All were places inhabited by other Eldar but now though, he was in an alien city which was not either a bombed out war zone or a massive empty ruin. He was in a place where the inhabitants of the city lived and did their businesses as they went about with their lives.

Shaking his head, he reminded himself that he had a task to complete first. Reaching into a side pocket of his cloak, Ellarian pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper which contained the instructions he needed. Written by the Corsair Prince himself, the paper's instructions said that Ellarian needed to find a place called the Ember Blade which resided in the "Outsider's District" of the city.

He supposed that it should not be too difficult to get there; perhaps this place would give him a chance to brush up on his Gothic. With a brief surge of further excitement, this was what Ellarian had dreamed of since beginning his journey upon the Path of the Outcast. To see other cultures and civilizations, to converse with sentient beings of other species, of course there was also the possibility that he may get into a fight while he was here; it was a good thing that at the least, he had brought a Neuro-Disruptor for protection.

* * *

Running as quickly as his legs could carry him upon the narrow neon-lit streets, Darid heard the sounds of gunfire which echoed across the hab-blocks. All around him, bystanders were getting out of his way and locking doors behind him with some even pointing their own guns at him and motioning for him to be on his way. Loudly shouting a profanity, the man wished that he had never come to this city.

Darid wore a black leather jacket which was studded with small metal spikes around the shoulders. He wore black fingerless gloves over his hands, shin high boots and blue denim pants which had seen better years. The man himself had the typical brutal features of a hive ganger with pale skin and a shaven head which had a single strip of long purple hair on the center which reached down to his left eye.

He was terrified and he was now running for his life, how could he have know that Kyeric was here? that damn sump-sucking bastard had somehow followed him from Larithen VIII. Darid knew that his body guards were probably dead and he knew that he would also be next if he didn't do anything.

Oh what in the Emperor's name had he done to piss off that guy. Glancing over his shoulders, Darid's eyes widened in terror, his heart skipped a beat and his bowels felt just about ready to void when he saw his pursuer giving chase. 'Oh frakk!' he shouted as he began to run faster with his already sore legs becoming even more agonized.

Clad in a dusty brown leather long-coat and trousersn dark gloves, boots and wide-brimmed hat, Kyeric's face was concealed by a red visored gas-mask which resembled the ones used by Cadian Guardsmen. His pursuer evoked an image which was reminiscent of those holo-films about tough gun slingers who brought hard justice to criminals. Unfortunately for Darid who had learned the hard way from across the sector, Kyeric was just as dangerous as those heroes from the films.

Swiftly turning his head to see what was in front of him, Darid nearly tripped over an upturned garbage can which had spilled torn up plastic bags as well a dead person's arm. Dog-sized rats hissed at him as they quickly scurried away and Darid managed to regain his footing before falling face first into the putrid trash. Glancing back again, he saw that Kyeric was getting closer and already, the bastard had already had a scoped, revolver-like laser pistol in one hand.

Another wave of fresh terror crawled up his spine and Darid continued to run. Up ahead, he saw that there was an intersection between four large buildings which was crudely barricaded on three sides by one of the Hive's local gangs. The gangers of whom were large, muscular men who wore tight and often revealing, blue dyed clothes which showed of their steroid enhanced physiques; the Gully Men they were called and were one of the dominant gangs in the Dis District whose symbol was a white U.

'You look like you got some trouble there… friend' came the deep gravelly and sarcastic voice of one of the Gully Men gangers who rested the side of his tattooed square jaw upon his right fist as his elbow was placed on the surface of a piece of sheet metal which formed the right barricades. Darid saw the heavy-looking slug thrower which was held in the Gully Man's left hand, its safety was clearly off.

'I... I need to get through!' shouted Darid as he breathed with exhaustion.

'My boys here can offer you protection… for the right price…' the Gully Man then said with a grin which revealed metal plated teeth which were engraved with the words _Ave Ultras_. The Gully Men around him began hefting their weapons while giving amused looks towards Darid.

'I will pay you!' shouted Darid desperately for he had no time to haggle. The man quickly reached into his pocket and he began removing thick wads of paper bills, Imperial Credits which were still considered legal tender on this world. Quickly throwing the slips of paper with reckless abandon, all of it would be worth a fortune on most Imperial worlds, the Gully Men began to give avaricious looks towards the man.

'Let him through boys!' commanded the Gully Man who spoke to him 'show our new friend some hospitality eh?'

'Right boss' came the voice of a man behind the barricade to the right and a group of men lifted up a sheet of scrap metal.

As much as Darid hated the idea of having to give almost all of his money to these bastards, his sense of self-preservation was greater than his sense of frugality. With a word of thanks to the Gully Men, Darid bolted towards the entrance which was soon sealed once more by the gangers. Not long afterwards, Kyeric arrived at the barricade with the Gully Men already having their hands in reach of their guns.

'Hold on right there pal' said the Gully Man who had "negotiated" with their latest guest, the ganger had gotten up and he began to roll his neck. 'You got a pay a toll to go through two of these gates here or you can find another way' the ganger then said.

Kyeric then pointed towards the barricade which Darid had just passed and the Gully Man just shook his head. 'Sorry but that way is closed off due to… "Maintenance", you will have to go another way' the Gully Man said as he then pointed with his chin to the barricade on the left of the intersection. Again, Kyeric pointed at the right barricade, and the lead Gully Man grew annoyed at this.

'You hear what I said Skag? That way is closed and-' said the Gully Man before Kyeric interrupted his sentence with a las-bolt to the forehead. The Gully Man's head exploded in a shower of blood as Kyeric swiftly drew and shot the man with a second pistol while the first one which had already been out was now pointed at another of the Gully Men. Soon the sounds of more gunfire began to ring across the streets of the Dis District where no law enforcement units dared to tread without significant armed reinforcements.

* * *

Slightly tilting his head in curiosity, Ellarian looked up to see the metal pole ahead of him which bore three different lights. It took him a while to find his way out of the large garden and into what seemed to be a street. One section of the street looked to be divided for on foot pedestrians while the other was for ground based vehicles.

In front of Ellarian, there was a section of the street which led to a building where the metal pole stood on the edge of a white stone platform. Horizontal strips of white were painted upon the road leading towards the structure and he saw humans walking upon them when the light was coloured green. Curiously, they still moved when it was yellow but not when it was red.

Already, he had removed his helmet and deactivated his cameleoline cloak for according to the Prince, the humans were not likely to just shoot him on sight unless he caused trouble. He had first attempted walking around without a helmet and concealment when he had still been in the garden by attempting to casually just go down a dirt path where he had seen a human male who was wearing a white head band, sleeveless garments and tight pants. The human had given the Eldar a curious look but other than that, he allowed Ellarian to go about his business.

What an unusual and emboldening experience that was, thought the Ranger who had kept his right hand near the concealed holster of his Neuro-disruptor which had been calibrated for incapacitation. Looking up to see the crude, rectangular pillars of the human structures, Ellarian saw several bright holo-lights upon them which reminded him of the ones he had seen on the _M'yen'shi_. He had also seen several of the disc machines he had once seen the Tau use in battle, but these ones were equipped with holo-screens which displayed a variety of things.

One particular disc machine flew over Ellarian and for a brief moment, it showed him the image of a winking human female who was applying some chemical upon her hair. The display then showed the same human female now wearing a dress but her hair which had previously been black was now blonde. It must be some sort of primitive hair dye he concluded with fascination.

As he looked around, he saw amongst the crowd, a few aliens here and there. On one side he saw what looked to be one of the shorter, worker strain of Tau in conversation with a human as they walked. On another side he saw one of those cannibalistic, Kroot sitting on the side of a ground vehicle which was being driven by a human male.

Back in _Vaul-Anarath_, he barely had time to interact with the aliens aboard the Craftworld for he had been more intrigued at the time on finding out how the Corsair Prince came to rule the place. There was also the fact that since all of those aliens were under the Prince's employment, most were busy with missions from the Prince.

As his eyes further studied and surveyed the surrounding area, he noticed a sandy-haired, human female curiously staring at him. She was accompanied by two other human females who were holding what looked to be some sort of food-like substance which consisted of a light brown cone at the bottom and a dollop of something which looked like cream on the top. Was it some sort of synthetic meal ration like the ones he sometimes found on slain Imperial Guardsmen? Or perhaps some sort of confectionary treat? Again, Ellarian felt that sense of curiosity which at times got the better of him.

Two of the females seemed busy conversing about something as they regularly stuck their tongues out to lick the cream on the cones they held. The one female who had been studying him quickly averted her gaze when Ellarian's eyes made contact with her own. For a moment, Ellarian thought that he saw the human's face become a bit pinkish as her eyes darted back to him, a shy look seemed to have form on the human's face.

Tilting his head at this curious display, the two other human females then began to walk away with none of them noticing him. The other female who had been studying him quickly followed her companions but not before giving one last look to the Ranger. Another curious experience thought Ellarian with more than a hint of amusement.

Looking back up to the metal pole with the multi-colored lights, Ellarian noticed that the one in front of him was now green. As the pedestrians around him began to move forward, the Ranger decided to follow their lead. When he got to the other side, Ellarian began looking about and wondering how he could find this Eisha.

Looking around and seeing if he could ask any of the humans about it, he thought about the sandy-haired human female who had been studying him. Seeing if the girl was still around, he saw that the human was nowhere to be seen, Ellarian gave a shrug and supposed that he could find some other way. Looking around a bit more, the Outcast spotted a human male who looked like an official sort on the count of a brownish-yellow coat, the human also wore a silver badge upon his left breast which depicted the Tau Empire symbol.

Raising his right arm and trying to get the human male's attention, the Mon'Keigh turned around to Ellarian with a curious look as well. Walking towards the human and already feeling a bit anxious, Ellarian held the instruction paper in tightly hand. When Ellarian came close enough to a conversational distance the human asked something which he thought he got the gist of, a question on how the man could help him. Ellarian then replied slowly and rather awkwardly in Imperial Gothic.

'Where… Outsider… District, Ember… Blade' he said carefully while trying to pronounce each crude word correctly. The human then pointed to the north and he said something about the place being that way as he pointed northwards again. With a nod and a word of thanks, Ellarian quickly then went on his way.

* * *

Resting his palms upon his thighs, Darid felt exhausted from the run as he had stopped within a narrow alleyway which was strewn with trash, rats and a drooling,twitching junkie with a needle in his right arm. Looking back and seeing that no one was behind him, he began to feel a sense of relief which soon blossomed into a hysterical laughter. 'Thank you Emperor!' shouted the man for it seemed like he had lost his pursuer.

Now how can he salvage this situation he thought for he was now almost penniless and in the middle of a district which was just as bad as the Underhive of Necromunda. The contacts he was supposed to meet were now dead thanks to that bastard, the merchandise was lost and his boss made it clear that either Darid comes back with the money or the goods which he had neither or he didn't come back at all. With a sigh of weariness, he knew that he would need to return to the bar where this madness had begun.

He was a smart man though who knew how to make a quick buck. Moving towards the junkie of whom he was not quite sure was either alive or dead; he cautiously removed the needle which was still stuck in the junkie's arm. He could use this to convince some gullible scav that it contained drugs and that he was willing to sell it for a reasonable price. It wouldn't be the first time which Darid worked as a drug dealer.

Pocketing the syringe and careful not to pierce his already ruined jacket, Darid turned around to face the end of the alley, opposite from where he had entered. Hesuddenly began to have this horrible gut feeling which caused him to break out in sweat, with a nervous gulp he turned around and once more, he felt a fresh wave of terror. It was Kyeric who now stood there like some sort of daemon-thing with two guns out, the barrels of which were still glowing.

'Oh Frakk!' he shouted as he began to sprint, he forgot about the junkie whose extended legs were just laid out, his forgetfulness caused him to accidentally trip on the junkie and Darid fell face first into the mass of rotted garbage.

With a fresh dose of adrenaline now surging through his veins, Darid quickly got up and he managed to sprint forwards. He suddenly heard the sound of slug throwers being fired from behind him and he looked back to see that Kyeric was now taking cover behind a wall. He wasn't sure if he should be thanking the Emperor yet as he managed to make his way to end of the alley without getting shot.

With the way things had been going, it seemed almost inevitable that Kyeric would get him. He needed to escape the Dis district; he needed to find a place to lie low. Oh Emperor why do you hate me so? He mentally asked for while he could not exactly say that he was an innocent man, he could hardly be the worst man in the galaxy, surely there were people out there more deserving of this than he?

* * *

Looking up to what seemed to be a walled-off section of the city, Ellarian quietly observed the open gates which were guarded by a pair of Tau disc machines, both of which were armed with two ranged weapons. He had seen these machines floating around in the human inhabited part as well but the humans in question did not seem to mind the presence of these armed machines. He guessed that, perhaps the machines were some sort of law enforcement unit with non-lethal weaponry?

With a shrug, Ellarian moved towards the open gates where there were many pedestrians going in and out. Interestingly, most of the pedestrians were aliens of various species, some walked, some crawled, some slithered and flew across the streets. With a clear and confident stride, Ellarian went towards the gate and he went in, unopposed.

The structures within the Outsider District were clearly human in origin but here and there he saw various decorations of alien origins. On one building of red brick, he saw a Kroot on the fifth story leaning its body out of a window where it held the head of an ork which it placed on to a hook where slabs of meat looked to be drying. On another building, he saw a group of small Vespid flying around in what looked to be a race.

Bright holo-light displays could be found here and there amongst the buildings as well as those Tau disk machines again. On one large holo-display, Ellarian saw an image depicting a heroic looking Tau Fire warrior pointing a rifle towards a double-headed eagle which looked like it was swooping down on the Fire Warrior. The image was then replaced with words from the Tau language and then it showed the image of the Fire Warrior raising its fist in victory as a Kroot and a human male stood beside it while the symbol of the Tau Empire was proudly displayed behind them.

For the third time in his life, Ellarian had been able to see up close, the various members of different alien with none trying to murder him… well not yet probably. On one side, he saw a pair gangly kroot riding upon large brutish beasts he believed were called Krootoxes, the kroot was conversing with another of its kind in a clicking tongue as the Krootoxes were pulling a wheeled cart where a hooded Hrud stood on top as it chittered something to the crowd in the Tau language while holding up baubles in its clawed hands.

On another side of the crowd, he saw a large alien with no head but eyes and a maw on the center of what looked to be its chest. The alien seemed to be haggling rather impatiently with a white-robed Tau merchant who stood behind a stall while a muscular and bald-headed human male in carapace armour was carefully studying the alien as he stood beside the tau, the human's arms were folded and they ended with two fierce-looking power fists. Ellarian guessed that the human was a bodyguard to the Tau merchant.

The haggling between the large alien and the Tau seemed to become more heated and when it looked like the large alien was about to lose its temper, the human swiftly delivered a quick punch to the alien's "face". The large creature staggered back for a moment before collapsing to the ground with the crowd barely giving it a second look, Ellarian was not sure if the alien was dead but he supposed that it really was not his problem. The Tau then began to speak to the human in a scolding manner but the Mon'keigh seemed rather pleased with himself, Ellarian guessed that the human was not even listening and that this was not the first time this had happened.

Now where to find this Ember's Blade he wondered? He supposed that he could ask the Tau merchant for he had heard that among the castes of their species, the merchant ones were also diplomats who learned the customs and languages of other races. Weaving around the crowd of aliens, Ellarian made his way to the Tau merchant who seemed to give him a friendly smile while the human guard dragged away the alien he had punched.

To his surprise, the Tau raised its right hand with it palm facing vertically towards Ellarian, a common greeting used by the Eldar from one Craftworld to another. The Tau then began to speak in a husky voice which was rather male sounding, and the ranger was further surprised when the Tau spoke in a passable Eldarin.

'A fair greetings to you noble E'ldar' spoke the Tau merchant in a friendly manner. 'Care to see the fine wares of Por'Ui'Tau'Tsua'm' said the merchant as he gestured one hand towards a table in front of him which had several strange alien baubles here and there.

'I must apologize but I believe that I have no currency which to trade you with' Ellarian said a bit embarrassed for he had no idea on what Tau even used, his own species had outgrown such silly notions ages ago. For humans though, he was aware that either they used pieces of paper or metal coins for currency, a step up from the orks who tended to bash each other in the face and use their own teeth as currency.

'You are free to have a look then friend' the Tau replied politely.

'I am actually looking for a place around here' Ellarian then said 'it's called the Ember Blade, do you know where it is?'

'Down the street behind me, follow the road until you pass two intersections and then you take a turn left on the third intersection' the Tau answered as his voice began to take a more cautious tone. 'You should be careful there friend E'ldar' said the tau who now spoke in a low whisper 'the Ember Blade is a disreputable den of miscreants and misconduct, I would recommend that you go there armed or with a companion to guard you'.

'Oh, well you have my gratitude for the warning then... friend.' Ellarian said with more than a bit of surprise towards the Tau's rather friendly and helpful manner, he could see now why the aliens had an entire caste dedicated for diplomacy and mercantilism.

'Any time friend E'ldar, tell your kin that Por'Ui'Tau'Tsua'm has the best prices this side of the Sept!'

* * *

The sounds of gunfire had died down behind him and to Darid's horror, Kyeric was still chasing him. By the Emperor what does it take to kill this bastard!? Once he had been a middle ranked but fairly successful member of the Arkos Syndicate which was the foremost dealers in the Cold Trade of this sector. He had money, a nice apartment and even an expensive pleasure model servitor from Hadiko Prime.

And then this deadly stranger shows up, kills his bodyguards, torches his home and begins chasing Darid across the sector. He had tried to call up his contacts and whoever he could trust in the Syndicate and everyone they sent ended up dead. It was clear that Kyeric was not working alone, but whoever his pursuer's buddies were; they too were just as difficult to kill.

Having run down a twisting series of alleyways, Darid soon found himself on the side-walk of a street which led to one of the main roads. To his relief, he found a parked, yellow painted ground car with words Taxi on it and the words for hire as well. Running to the vehicle where the driver was clearly asleep on the wheel, Darid began to pound on the glass window of the cab which startled the driver who then pulled out a stub gun.

'I want to hire you!' shouted Darid as he pulled out one of his last paper bills and he showed it to the driver. The driver nodded a bit warily as he saw the paper bill and he gestured for Darid to enter. Eagerly opening the side door and entering the passenger seat, Darid then shouted urgently 'just drive! Get me to the nearest district!'

With a nod from the cab driver who was a portly, middle-aged man, with a short stubble around his chin and short black hair, the driver was separated from him by a protective glass screen and in Darid's experience, some cab drivers kept hidden weapons within their vehicles for when customers tried any funny business. 'Sure thing pal' was all the driver said as he pressed a button which locked the door and then he pressed another button which caused a holo-light to appear in front of Darid with the word "fasten your seatbelt" flashing before him.

'Oh fu-' was all what Darid could say before the Taxi driver stepped on the gas and he began to drive like a madman. It quickly dawned on Darid that he may have exchanged one life threatening situation to for another. Quickly working his hands around the seat belt, Darid was able to safely secure himself to the passenger seat while he tightly held on to the handle on the side of the door.

As the cab sped passed the streets of the Dis District, Darid finally began to catch his breath. Relief flushed into him as he then looked to the cab driver, he knocked on to the glass surface which separated them and he asked where they were going.

'The Outsider's District' answered the cab driver who then began to slow down the car.

'Why are you slowing down!?' asked Darid with alarm for it had only been five minutes since he had gotten into the cab.

'That's as far as I can take you with what you're paying me' said the cab driver as he looked over his shoulder 'if you want to go further, I need to know if you can pay the fare'

'You son of a-!' shouted Darid as he then noticed how the cab driver now had a finger which was hovering dangerously close to a red button beside the driver's wheel which had skull and crossbones on it. Grumbling with defeat, Darid then began to fish through his pockets and to his surprise, he found nothing.

'Well looks like this is where you get off pal' said the cab driver as he unlocked the door, to the passenger compartment 'you can leave the money on the seat'. Glaring daggers at the driver, Darid left his last paper bill on the seat and he exited the vehicle. When he got out and slammed the door shut, the driver quickly turned around and went back towards the Dis District.

At the least though, he saw that the gate to the Outsider's District was in walking distance. What worried him now though was that now he was currently unarmed and penniless in a dangerous part of town and if what he had heard about the Outsider's District was correct, part of it was a warzone between alien gangs. You can do this he thought to himself, it would not be the first time you had to deal with xenos and it wouldn't be the last.

As he took a step forward, he heard the roar of a bike engine and he looked back with that horrible gut feeling returning. In the distance, he saw a blue painted bike which was now spattered in blood and upon it; he saw that Kyeric was riding upon the vehicle while several other bike mounted gangers were chasing his pursuer.

'OH FRAK!' shouted Darid for what seemed to have been the hundredth time on this day alone, he made a run towards the Outsider's district with speed borne of desperation and fear.

* * *

Following the direction of the Tau merchant, Ellarian soon found the place where was to meet the Prince's contact which indeed seemed to be in a seedier looking part of the district. Some of the structures looked to be in disrepair and in the shadows of one of the alleys, he saw to his surprise, greenskin snotlings who looked to be scavenging amongst the heaps of trash. The foul little creatures looked to Ellarian with fearful looks before scampering away; he then heard the loud screeching of a kroot which was soon followed by high-pitched squeels.

If there were orks here, perhaps he should recalibrate his Neuro-disruptor to the kill setting because he doubted that reducing an ork to a brain-dead, drooling simpleton would actually be any different from a normal one. Keeping a hand near his gun, Ellarian focused his attention back to the squat building which he believed was the Ember Blade. The structure itself looked to be two stories high with a big holo-sign which depicted a sword of an alien design which was wreathed in fire.

The front of the structure was guarded by a pair of Tau disk machines which seemed a bit damaged. The machines looked as if they had been in a war zone while the repairs given to the machine had the slapdash manner consistent with ork craftsmanship. All right, here I go thought Ellarian as he took a deep breath of the fetid air.

As he was about to take a step towards the establishment, Ellarian heard the sounds of gunfire in the distance and the roars of bike engines. Looking towards the source of the sound, the Outcast's eyes widened to see a human male with a barbaric hairstyle running for his life as a group of humans on bikes were chasing him. Not his problem he quickly thought as he upholstered his Neuro-disruptor, already he had decided not to get involved with whatever this was but just in case, he should ready himself.

As the man who was on foot drew closer to Ellarian's position, the Eldar noticed that one of the bikers of whom was closest to the man on foot was firing a laser weapon at the humans behind him. Beams of red lasers shot out from the bike rider's gun and Ellarian saw that two of the other bike riders fell of their vehicles which toppled and crashed. The other bike riders were oddly clad in blue clothes and to his surprise; Ellarian saw the stylized U insignia he had seen on Space Marines before.

What in Isha's name was going on here? asked Ellarian with deep confusion. Slug throwers carried by the blue clothed humans spat volleys of bullets towards the lead rider who wore a brown long coat. The shots were poorly aimed while the lead rider fired back with surprisingly accurate shots.

Taking a few steps aside to get out of the way of this unexpected event, Ellarian saw the brown coated human holster its pistol and it threw something small and round which flew towards the bikers. Quickly, Ellarian recognized with eyes widened that it was a grenade and the device exploded amongst the remaining bikers. Humans screamed in agony as their bodies were shredded by shrapnel, their bikes flipped over and crashed across the streets in a shower of debris.

The sound was deafening to the Eldar who then noticed the man on foot was going towards him. The human then began shouting to Ellarian in a desperate and pleading voice, the human had crazed look on him as he then began to reach for something in his black jacket and Ellarian thought that the human might be reaching for a weapon. Without a second thought, the Outcast quickly brought up his Neuro-disruptor and he fired it at the human who then collapsed to the ground and began to spasm and twitch.

The brown coated biker then drove to a halt near Ellarian who still had his Neuro-disruptor out. Pointing the weapon towards the biker, Ellarian saw that the human who was wearing a gas mask and a wide brimmed hat had raised its hands up in front of its chest with palms facing the Eldar. The human silently studied Ellarian for a moment, before he heard a muffled and feminine sounding voice speak.

'Ellarian?' the masked human asked, stunning the Eldar who slowly then lowered his pistol for how could this one know his name. The human began to remove the gas mask and hat, and to the Outcast's further surprise, he saw a pale skinned, white-haired human female with irises which were also white in color.

It was her, he suddenly recognized, the human female he had saved on the Azure world. The human woman who was named Merelen Cyierk, a supposed Rogue Trader and associate of Prince Angsar. She began to smile towards the Eldar who could not help but give an open-mouthed look of shock toward this unexpected reunion.


	3. The Ember Blade

Upon the currents of the spirit world, Ulen Karr soared as free as a bird. His eyes which although physically closed, he could see the dazzling kaleidoscope of colors and patterns. So beautiful it was in these brief moments, to abandon flesh and allow his soul to soar, to leave behind the dirt and filth of his mundane existence.

Within the spirit realm, he saw angelic feminine beings soaring alongside him as they greeted his return. Always they were there, when Ulen came to see the Great Spirit, perhaps they were servants of his deity? Consorts and brides? His god surely was glorious enough to warrant such company.

As his spirit continued to travel across the ethereal winds, Ulen soon saw the figure of his god. His eyes fell upon a mighty figure whose form and physique harkened to the legendary heroes of yore, the god as usual, wore form of a man wearing the pelt of a bear like an ancient warrior of Old Terra. His god, of whom Ulen knew as the Bear Spirit, was now standing in wait for him; a mighty sword which blazed with divine fire was resting in front of the Bear Spirit.

'Ulen my faithful servant' came the smooth yet strong voice of the Bear Spirit 'is everything in accordance?'

'Indeed Great One!' replied Ulen as he fell to his knees for such was the glory of the Bear Spirit.

'I am pleased then' spoke the Bear Spirit, his deity's satisfaction brought great joy to Ulen whose physical lips curled to a smile. 'When all is ready, I shall send unto you, my gifts and with it, you will be made the High King of Nussara, as it was in ancient days.'

'Just as the followers of the Corpse King were cast down, so will the lackeys of the xenos!' announced Ulen as his spirit began to feel the tug back into his physical body.

'Farewell loyal servant! And may fortune smile upon you!' called the Bear Spirit whose voice echoed in Ulen's mind.

When his spirit returned to his kneeling body, Ulen gasped as his eyes suddenly flew open. His body, which was now lathered in sweat, was tense as he readjusted to being back into the physical world. It was always like this after he took the holy draught which off-worlders called Spook, soon he knew that he would begin to feel the shakes, sweats and the shivers as the withdrawals would begin to wrack his body.

At the very least he had enough of the draught to last him for three more months. Rolling his neck about and feeling a gentle crack, Ulen then looked around his chamber to see that the candles he had set were now almost guttered out. Within his dim chambers, he had a collection of junk and personal belongings which he had collected over the years.

The only thing which was of any real worth (aside from his stash of Spook) was his Heavy Stubber which he did his best to keep well maintained. With it, he had ended the lives of many rival gangers as well as lawmen who thought that they could arrest him. It was the last of the great weapons which had belonged to his gang, a weapon which had once belonged to his ancestors when they had ruled this land before the coming of the Corpse King's minions, oh how the mighty had fallen he thought.

A series of knocks came from the door which led to his room and he called out to let whoever it was to come in. The door then slowly opened with a loud screech of rusty metal, he really ought to get that fixed he thought as one of his men, Orek came in.

Clad in a red leather jacket with dark furs around the neck, Orek was dressed like most of their gang. The young ganger was one of his best men, already; the lad had killed at least dozen men in various fights with the other gangs. In time, perhaps Orek would be chosen to become the next head of their gang.

'Boss! we got something going on!' said Orek with an alarmed tone.

'Well spit it out lad, what is it?' asked Ulen.

'The Gully Men boss!' Orek said with a hint of excitement 'some skag just killed a bunch of them on the west side!'

'How many are dead?' Ulen asked for the Gully Men were their biggest rivals, any weakness in the Gully Men would be a great opportunity to take their turf, perhaps even a chance for them to wipe out their bitter rivals all together.

'A lot boss' eagerly replied Orek 'we should rally the others and attack!'

'I like you're thinking lad' nodded Ulen as he stood up from his kneeling position and commanded 'send word to the rest of the gang! Have the bikes readied! The Wyrd Bears ride to war!'

* * *

Smoke wafted from the burning wreckage of the broken bikes which now lay strewn around the road. The ruined bodies of the human who had operated the vehicles were left in their place as they bled out, the sounds of moans and cries of pain signified that not all were dead.

Amidst all this ruin which was honestly, far from the worst he had ever seen, Ellarian's attention was focused on the human female, Merelen Cyierk who was still seated on her bike. 'Well I didn't expect to see you around here' she said in a tone which seemed to be pleasantly surprised.

'The… feeling… mutual' replied Ellarian as he did his best in trying to speak in Imperial Gothic.

'Oh and you can understand me this time' the human female said with a slight smile for when they had first met, Ellarian had absolutely no understanding of the human language.

In the distance, Ellarian could hear the sounds of footsteps and he looked to see the red beady eyes of gretchins and snotling. The small greenskins were cautiously creeping from the shadows of the alleys as they observed both he and Rogue Trader from afar. Having grown familiar with the loathsome little beasts, Ellarian knew well enough that the orkoids were likely planning to scavenge what they could from the dead humans and their bikes.

Tightening his grip upon the Neuro-disruptor which he still held in his hand, he looked towards the wretched aliens with a wary eye for any fight would probably be quite a predicament. The Neuro-disruptor was only good for short ranged shots and it would not be the most effective against large groups. He should have brought his Avenger Shuriken Rifle or Lasblaster… perhaps a plasma grenade or two would be useful here as well.

Noticing his attention towards the greenskins, the Rogue Trader looked towards the aliens and without a second thought; she pointed one of her guns and opened fire with a fully automatic barrage of red laser bolts. Screeches of pain echoed from the alley as a three greenskins were cut down and the rest quickly fled for their lives. 'Annoying little bastards' muttered the human in a contemptuous tone as she looked back to Ellarian 'you won't believe how much of a hassle they can be when they are part of a Freebooter krew.'

The Outcast nodded in cautious agreement for often when there was one greenskin around, there were usually at least a dozen more or two. The Rogue Trader then looked to the other human Ellarian had shot, the male human continued to twitch and drool upon the dirt strewn street a few feet away from the Ranger.

'Is he dead?' asked the white haired female as she looked back to Ellarian. At a closer look, the Ranger noticed that the Rogue Trader's eyes had an unnatural light within them; it was not something which was psychic in nature for sure, perhaps mechanical?

Shaking his head, Ellarian gave a simple word of 'no' in Imperial Gothic. The Rogue Trader nodded to the Ranger as she then looked to the prone man, the ranger saw that there was murder in her eyes. Already he had deduced that the man he had shot with the Neruo-disruptor was the Rogue Trader's prey.

'How long until he comes to?' the human woman then asked to which Ellarian shrugged. It was the first time he had used a Neuro-disruptor and all the times he had even seen one used, it had been set to kill. 'No idea huh? I guess I will have to keep an eye on him until then' the human woman then said as she holstered her pistols and stepped off of the bike which fell to the side without anything to support it.

'So what brings you here?' asked the Rogue Trader as she picked the man up by his legs and she began to drag him towards an alley, Ellarian was not sure if he should be helping the human woman or not.

'I come here, deliver message' replied the Ranger in a slow and careful speech as he brought out the data-slate and held it up to the human. 'For the Prince' he then added.

'I figured he would have sent someone to check up on me' grunted the Rogue Trade as she continued to drag the man.

'I know not you here' Ellarian then said with another shrug 'I look for someone, Eisha, you know?'

'I don't know anyone by that name' answered the Rogue Trader as she came to a stop by the entrance of the alley where she had shot the greenskins. 'To be honest' continued the human 'I bet that I don't even know half of the people who are working for Eorlianeth'.

'I find this person, there' Ellarian then said as he pointed towards the structure called the Ember Blade where two jury rigged looking Tau disk machines continued to stand sentry by the main door.

'Looks seedy if you ask me' observed the human woman as she studied the place 'probably the kind of place where someone tries to rob or murder you if they don't like your face'.

'I have weapon' Ellarian declared in a casual manner as he brought up his Neuro-disruptor with its barrel pointed upwards.

'Yeah well those kinds of places, you need someone to watch your back' the woman replied 'I will come with you as soon as I am done with this Feth-head'.

'My thanks' Ellarian said a bit unsure as he gave her a respectful bow.

'Hey it's the least I can do' the Rogue Trader said with a nod 'I owe you that much… and more.'

* * *

Agony coursed through his head as his senses finally came back to him. It felt like he had been out all night hitting the bottle with some strong stiff and waking up with not only a major hangover, but also as if an Ogryn had used his skull as a punching bag. His memory was a bit hazy on what had happened but he remembered seeing a stranger in golden robes and…

With eyes suddenly opening wide as everything came back to him, Darid remembered with fear the red visored and gas-masked face of his pursuer. As soon as the man had opened his eyes, he bolted up with a gasp and he felt a tight restriction around his wrists which were behind him. He quickly realized that his arms were bound behind him and he could not get them to the front of his body, looking around as panic began to set in, he quickly spotted someone in golden garments.

'Oh frak' muttered Darid as he remembered that this was the guy who had shot him earlier. The stranger then looked to the man and he quickly noted the slender and angular features of the stranger. An Eldar! He realized for he dealing with those xenos in the past, next to the alien he saw the familiar brown coated figure of his pursue.

Again, Darid would be further surprised for when he looked up to the one who had chased him across half the sector, he saw someone he hoped that he would never see again.

'M-Merelen!?' gasped the man with disbelief as the Rogue Trader looked to him with a look of cold anger. 'H-how the frakk did you escape the Arbites!?' cried the man for it was just impossible on how she could be here now. The Rogue trader should already be either dead or laboring on some sump-hole of a penal colony.

'Darid, good to see that you are awake…' said the Rogue Trader coldly as she pointed a scoped, revolver-like laser pistol from at his head. 'I just wanted to make sure that you know that I got out' the Rogue Trader added as she switched the safety off 'before I kill you…'

'Wait!' shouted the man desperately as he fought to prevent his bowels from voiding on the spot. 'I can tell you where Joren is! I can tell you how to get to Kruger!' he pleaded.

'No need for that Darid, you little shit' said the woman as she moved towards him and placed her gun to the temple of his head. 'We got Val back, so finding Joren and Kruger will be easy' continued the woman with cold nger.

'Surely we can work something out!?' shouted Darid as tears began to flow from his eyes and he lost the battle with his bowels.

'You were a good kid Darid, but you got greedy' was all the Rogue Trader said with grim finality before pulling the trigger of her gun 'don't worry though, the old gang will be sure that Joren and Kruger will be joining you pretty soon.'

* * *

Watching in silence as the Rogue trader calmly and coldly executed the other human with a laser bolt to the head; Ellarian saw the human male's head explode in a shower of cooked meat and seared bone. From what he could understand, it was clear that the two of them had known each other in the past but it seemed that the Rogue Trader had been betrayed by the other one.

The Rogue Trader closed her eyes and she looked up to the bright sky above. Ellarian heard a deep inhalation of breath from the woman as her shoulders slumped by a little. The human woman then looked to the Outcast and nodded as if nothing had happened 'well let's go then'.

With a nod as well from Ellarian, the Ranger turned towards the Ember Blade and he began to make his way to the establishment with Merelen Cyierk behind him. He was not sure whether he should be wary of the human or not for while the Rogue Trader seemed to be genuine with her desire to assist him, there was the fact that she was still, human.

In the past when Ellarian had fought as part of the Guardian companies of his Craftworld, he had participated in campaigns where his kin had sometimes fought as allies with the Imperium's soldiers. On more than a few occasions, he and his comrades had to watch out for treachery amongst the Mon'keigh and indeed, on quite a number of those occasions, the vigilance of his kin proved to be well placed. Of course, his kin had on occasion done their own share of betrayal but that was hardly important at the moment.

'It may be best if you let me do the talking while we are their' Merelen Cyierk then said 'I have a lot of experience in dealing with places like this.'

'Your lead' Ellarian then said for the human was likely more experienced than he was in matters such as this.

As they drew closer to the establishment, Ellarian could not also help but think that it was hardly a coincidence that the Rogue Trader was here. He had a strong feeling that the Prince had sent him here for more than just a delivery. Hopefully, things don't turn out like the _M'yen'shi_ all over again.

When they arrived at the front door of the Ember Blade, Ellarian saw the two sentries focus their sights on them. A mechanical voice spoke out from one of them first in the Tau language and then in Imperial Gothic, allowing them in but warning of causing no troubles. Surprised that the machines mentioned nothing about confiscating their weapons, the Ranger was quick to assume than anyone else inside could potentially be armed.

Taking a deep breath of the fetid air around them, Ellarian steeled his nerves and proceeded to walk straight towards the doorway which was a rusty looking slab of metal with bullet holes on it. As his foot stepped forwards, he saw the slab of metal rise up with a dull screech and from the inside, a light fog of gas wafted out and Ellarian caught a foul whiff of smoke, stale alcohol and an odious mélange of bodily humours from various alien species. Doing his best to ignore the mild sense of nausea as the light fog began to surround him the Ranger heard the Rogue Trader begin to cough as she breathed in the vapors.

'Gah! that is some strong stuff right there!' said Merelen Cyierk as she placed her right arm over her nose and mouth. The human then began to reach for her gasmask and she quickly fastened it to her face before putting her hat on as well. It may be a good idea if he did so as well thought Ellarian as he placed his hands around his helmet which was latched to the side of his belt.

Putting his helmet back on, he heard the soft hiss as the wraithbone comfortably sealed around his neck and the air filter within began to activate. At the very least now, he was unlikely to inhale some noxious mix of a potentially poisonous vapor. With a quick look to the Rogue Trader, Ellarian nodded and the two entered the establishment.

The interior of the Ember Blade was a dimly lit space where crowds of aliens from various species were huddled around circular tables. Many of the aliens were consuming a wide variety of libations, foodstuff or were partaking in the smoking of various items as well. More than a few of the aliens inside gave both Ellarian and the Rogue Trader some cautious looks as they entered.

The lights within the Ember Blade were rather dim, not enough for him to need to use his helmet's low-light vision. Although Ellarian could see fairly well, the reduced lightning made the Ranger think that it could help any of the patrons with concealing a weapon. Quietly alarmed by this possibility he began to cautiously survey amongst the crowd of whom could be useful in assisting him find this Eisha.

'Let's check with the bartender' came the muffled voice of the Rogue Trader as she pointed towards a section of the establishment northeast of their current position.

Ellarian looked to where the human female had pointed towards, he noted that there was an unmasked human male standing behind a surface counter of metal while several glass bottles were placed upon shelves behind the male human. Interestingly, Ellarian saw what looked to be an Imperial Power Sword on display beside the shelves with bottles and below the sword was a holo-picture, what it showed though, the Ranger could not tell from the current distance.

Allowing the human female to take the lead, Ellarian followed the Rogue Trader as he cautiously eyed the crowds of aliens, more than a few it seemed were sizing the two of them up while keeping hands, claws, tentacles or various other appendages near alien weapons. The Ranger was aware that he himself was keeping a hand near the holster of his Neuro-Disruptor while Merelen Cyierk did the same with her own guns.

Walking towards the male human who looked to be employed at this establishment, Ellarian noticed the man was a pudgy, balding, older specimen with scars over his face and a prominent grey moustache growing beneath the human's nose. The male human seemed to be busy wiping the interior of a drinking glass as he busily cleaned it with a cloth rag which looked liked it needed cleaning itself. The human male then looked up to both the Rogue Trader and the Ranger; the man's gaze was soon fixed upon the Outcast.

'Don't get a lot of Eldar around these parts' the human said as he continued to clean the glass 'especially one accompanied by a human, so what can I get for the two of you?'

'My friend here is looking for someone' replied the Rogue Trader in a professional tone 'know anyone by the name of Eisha around here?'

'You mean that merc?' questioned the man and the instinct of being watch began to rear up within Ellarian. Glancing back to the crowd of aliens, the Ranger noted that some of them seemed to be eavesdropping on their conversation with interest with many looking away the moment he turned his head. 'Well I hadn't seen that one around in a while' shrugged the man non-chalantly 'probably off on some contract.'

'Do you know how we can find this person then?' asked the Rogue Trader.

'Well you can talk to Mister Johnson over there' replied the man as he pointed his chin towards another table where a lone human male wearing black glass-wear upon his eyes, this other human seemed to be busy operating some sort of holo-display console which was being generated by a small box placed on his table. 'He's the kind of guy mercenaries talk to when they need to find information or jobs' the man cleaning the glass finished.

'Thank you for your time then' nodded Merelen Cyierk and the man gave a nod as well, Ellarian was quick to politely give thanks as well before the man suddenly spoke.

'Hey you there, Eldar' the man said and Ellarian turned his gaze back to the man.

'Yes?' asked the Ranger with curiosity as the man eyes were focused on the insignia upon Ellarian's breastplate. Painted over the Outcast's heart was the rune of _Caladai_ set within the chest of a dragon in flight, the insignia of Craftworld Valseris, below it was the fresh symbol depicting the goddess Lileath holding a book while the crescent moon behind her was shaped to resemble wings, the insignia of the Crescent Wings Corsairs.

The human man studied the symbols upon Ellarian's breastplate for a moment more and he finally spoke 'You're with the Crescent Wings, aren't you?'

Surprised that this human actually knew and recognized his newfound group, Ellarian simply replied 'yes' while sounding more dumb-founded than he would like.

'My grandfather used to tell me stories about one of them' the man explained 'his father you see fought in the Liberation War against the Imperium, had his life saved by one them Corsairs.' The man gently set down the glass he was cleaning and he went to the holo-picture beneath the sword. At a closer look, Ellarian noticed that the power sword looked old with several notches, scratches and patches of rust on it.

As the human man removed the picture from the wall, he went back towards Ellarian and the now curious Rogue Trader who was quietly watching and he presented the picture to them. To the Ranger's surprise once more, he saw that the image depicted several humans of both genders posing victoriously on top of a slain Space Marine Terminator. What really caught Ellarian's attention though was that at the center of the picture; he saw Eorlianeth Angsar was in it with a proud smile on his face as he wore his golden armour, his midnight black helmet was latched to the side of his belt.

The Prince was holding on to the bottom end of an Executioner Spear with the bladed head firmly embedded into the Terminator's helmet, Ellarian also noted that near the Terminator's right hand was the power sword which was now on display. The human soldiers around the Prince were smiling, a human female to the Prince's left was presenting towards whoever took the picture, a torn flag depicting a sword placed behind a shield and upon the shield was the twin headed eagle of the Imperium.

The man then pointed towards a male human in the picture who was to the Prince's right and said 'that one was my great grandfather'. Ellarian of course could not quite tell, most humans looked alike to him, but for the sake of politeness, he pretended that he could see it. 'Is the Eldar on that picture still around?' asked the man with curiosity.

'He is the leader of those Crescent Wings' came the voice of the Rogue Trader and the man looked to her with a curious look, no doubt that he would be surprised that Merelen Cyierk had knowledge of the Corsair Band.

'It is true' added Ellarian to confirm the Rogue Trader's words.

'I hear they built a statue of them all down in the Eden District' the man then said as he placed the holo-picture back below the sword. As he turned back to them, he then said 'maybe the two of you should check it out while you are in town.'

'Huh, maybe we shall then' replied the Rogue Trader as gently tugged Ellarian's left arm and she looked towards the other human male called "Mister Johnson". 'Well thanks for the info then' said Rogue Trader as she placed her right hand into a pocket on her jacket; she then took out a small silver disc which she tossed towards the man who deftly caught it in the air and nodded to them. Ellarian recognized the disc as of being a coin, the currency humans use for trading with one another.

Allowing the human woman to take the lead once more, Ellarian began to wonder who this agent of the Prince was. Hopefully this Johnson fellow would be able to lead them in the right direction.

* * *

Kneeling upon the pristine wooden floor boards which had recently been cleaned and polished to the point that it shone with a mild, reflective sheen, there knelt a man with long black hair which had been tied into a ponytail and a short stubble of beard upon his chin. His eyes were closed as a look of calm serenity was etched upon his face; his hands were laid flat upon his lap which was covered by a pair of loose black cloth pants which were his only garments at the moment.

The man was named Reijiro and he was in deep meditation for what was to come. Often when he had the time, he would perform these exercises. Proud of his skill as a fighter, he knew well that a warrior who does not practice is like a blade with a grindstone, it would grow dull and weak and become nothing more than a useless piece of scrap.

Taking a series of deep breaths, Reijiro's focused his senses to the area around him. He could feel the cool air kiss his bare skin which was covered in an intricate series of tattoos, he could smell the faint traces of the chemicals used to clean the wooden floor, and he could hear the breathing of his guards who nervously stood vigilant around him. Most importantly though, he could smell the foul, mildly necrotic stench of his sparring partners, the soft clicks of the mechanical components within their flesh and he could feel the charge in the air as their clawed hands crackled with lightning.

Suddenly opening his eyes as his mind entered its battle trance, Reijiro ducked beneath the thrust of a charged claw, its electric field was only scant inches away from zapping his scalp. Bursting into motion as he rolled forward to avoid another attack, Reijiro swiftly grabbed the _Saya _which had laid before him and in one quick, fluid motion, he grabbed the hilt and pulled out his sword in time to meet his foe.

At the moment his hands made contact with the grip of his blade, advanced biometric scanners read his hands and unlocked the seals which kept the sword within its sheath. A quick scrape of metal resounded from the _Saya_ as he freed his weapon, its silvery metal surface shined brightly like a miniature sun before the power field within it activated. In less than two seconds, Reijiro stood against his foes in a defensive stance as his _Guntō_ was wreathed in an azure light.

Standing only a few feet away from him were two sparring servitors, both of the lobotomized cybernetic thralls looked towards Reijiro with toothy grins as their skulls were lacking in any form of flesh. Their eyes glowed a fearsome red as optical lenses within their eyes sockets fed them data which would be processed by their modified brains which were partly still made of meat. The bodies of the servitors were covered in heavy plating which bore many gouges and rents from their previous training sessions.

A brief moment of tense silence passed as the two thralls communicated via built in vox-units. No doubt that they were planning their tactics and in three seconds, they split up with one going left and the other going right. Maintaining his stance and keeping an eye on which way one of them would come first, Reijiro tensed himself and prepared for their inevitable assault. Another second passed and the servitors came at him simultaneously, their electrically charged claws crackled were aimed high and low at four points around his body.

Already having a plan on how to deal with them, he allowed the claws of the cybernetic thralls to draw closer and when they lunged towards him, he leapt back in time to avoid their simultaneous assaults upon his sides and he slashed his sword in an upwards arc which severed the arms of the servitors. The thralls felt no pain as foul smelling coolants and chemicals which were mixed with soured blood began to pour from their severed limbs, the servitors simply stayed still for a moment before they bowed in defeat to Reijiro.

With a disdainful snort, the man removed a white handkerchief from the left pocket of his pants and he began to clean his sword. He was growing bored of these practice sessions with the same servitors over and over again, it had been a while since he had faced a live enemy to practice his swordsmanship against. As he finished cleaning his _Guntō_, he gently placed it back into its _Saya_ and turned his back from the servitors who remained bowing.

Standing before Reijiro was an old man named Tamotsu who was clad in a _Hakama_. Upon the hands of the old man was Reijiro's personal pocket phone which was ringing. Gently taking the phone with his right hand and giving a word of thanks as well as dismissing Tamotsu, Reijiro flicked the device open and placed it upon the side of his head.

'_Moshi Moshi_' said Reijiro as he knew full well who would be on the other side of the line. Orders were quickly given to Reijiro in a calm but straight to the point manner, it seemed that their "allies" The Gully Men had been taking some rather heavy casualties from some stranger in a gas mask and a bolero hat. As much as Reijiro openly disdained the barbarous hoodlums, his _Oyabun_ thought differently on their choice of friends.

'_Hai_, _Wakarimashita_' he then said as he close his phone and placed it inside his right pocket. Looking to the tattooed men around him of whom were armed with a variety of blades. He then loudly ordered them in perfect Imperial Gothic 'Load up and get ready! We are leaving in ten minutes!'

'_Hai_!' replied the men of the _Zanryū Imperialis _as they began to make their way out of the room and head to the armory, the two servitors he had sparred with had remained in place, their foul mixture of chemicals and old blood had stopped as their internal medical enhancements sealed the wounds. It seemed that the chief rivals of The Gully Men, the Wyrd Bears were on the move and that the Dis District had become more of a warzone than usual now.

He hoped that the Wyrd Bear gangers would offer him a better challenge than the servitors did, but somehow, he doubted that.

* * *

Walking up towards the human male named Mister Johnson; Ellarian noted the odd way that some of the alien patrons had been looking at them. They started to after he had mentioned the name of whoever this Eisha was, could it be that this agent he was looking for was being hunted by others? The male human, Mister Johnson paused with his work on the holo-console and he looked towards both Ellarian and Merelen Cyierk.

'Can I help you two?' asked Mr. Johnson as he studied them, although Ellarian could not see the man's eyes behind the dark lenses, there was no doubt that the human was sizing up both the Ranger and the Rogue Trader. The man had an unkempt black beard and hair which was combed back, he wore a dark red leather coat like Merelen Cyierk's and Ellarian could see the butt of a gun dangling from the man's back while the hilt of a knife was concealed under is right wrist.

'My friend here is looking someone, a mercenary' replied the Rogue Trader 'and the bartender there says that you can help us.'

'Well if its information you're looking for, then you came to the right guy' the man then said as he looked towards Ellarian and gestured with his right hands towards three empty seats around his table. The Ranger and the Rogue Trader sat themselves across the man who then added 'I should warn you though, I charge for information, depending on what is being asked.'

'Well we'll see what you got then' Merelen Cyierk replied in a more professional tone. 'Know anyone around here named Eisha' the Rogue Trader asked 'any idea know how we can find this one?'

The human man steepled his fingers together as he seemed to consider the Rogue Trader's words before finally answering 'I know Eisha, yeah, but if you are looking for that one, then you'd better come back some other time.'

'Any reason why?' questioned Merelen Cyierk.

The human man answered the Rogue Trader in a calm manner 'first of all, people in my line of work have got a rule on not to tell others about those we contract, policies you see?' It seemed like an odd rule but both Ellarian and Merelen Cyierk remained quite and allowed the man to continue. 'Second of all' added Mister Johnson 'I have no idea where Eisha is, a real pro at staying hidden and taking a target down by surprise.'

'I see then' said Merelen Cyierk 'any idea when this merc will be back then?'

The man shrugged and replied 'don't know, but if you got a message though, I can be sure to pass it along.'

'Can you do, please?' asked Ellarian, if this human could deliver the message then that would make his task from the Prince a lot easier. Merelen Cyierk then raised her hand towards Ellarian, a gesture to halt, and he reminded himself that he had agreed to let the Rogue Trader do the talking.

'Or perhaps we can drop off a vox-number you can give when this Eisha comes back' Merelen Cyierk the said. The man's lips slightly curled downwards in a disappointed manner, Ellarian wondered why though.

'I suppose I can do that as well' the man then said as he folded his arms.

'Good then' replied the Rogue Trader in a somewhat triumphant tone as her right hand went towards a pocket upon the left side of her long coat above the breast. She gently removed a small rectangular device the size of Ellarian's thumb and placed near the holo-projector. With a simple click of a button on the side of the item, there was single beep which emanated from the projector and series of new letters appeared on the holo-display.

'Thank you for your time Mister Johnson' said Merelen Cyierk as she pulled out another metal coin from her pocket and placed it on the man's table. Ellarian saw the human female rise up from her seat and he did so as well.

'Anytime then' replied the human man with a slight curl on the side of his lips as he gave a light shrug before pocketing the coin. Curious at what had just happened, he saw that the human woman was now heading towards the exit of the Ember Blade.

'Where we go?' asked Ellarian for he wondered exactly was going in the human female's mind for he had never trained to telepathically communicate with non-psykers.

'It's been a long day' Merelen Cyierk replied in a somewhat tired tone 'I got a safe house in the city, come on, I will explain everything when we get there…'


	4. Drive-by Witnesses

Shouting at the top of his lungs while bracing himself for the kick of his weapon's recoil, Ulen Karr's voice was joined with that of his Heavy Stubber as it unleashed a storm of .50 caliber rounds. Standing atop the wrecked remains of a ground car while continuing to fire, the leader of the Wyrd Bears gang watched in satisfaction as the blue garbed, muscle-bound bodies of the Gully Men were torn to bloody shreds. His opponents fired back with slug throwers and a few laser weapons of their own but none had struck Ulen who was protected by the might of the Bear Spirit.

The battlefield between the two gangs was a wide rundown street littered with trash as the Gully Men fought from behind a series of scavenged, rusty metal barricades while the Wyrd Bears fought back from behind make-shift Mantlets which were also made from the same materials. Street lamps lined up around the sidewalks, illuminating the street with some of the lights flickering in the growing darkness as night began to fall. Several bodies now littered the road behind them and some ahead, most belonged to those of the gangers who now fought but more than a few belonged to the unlucky bystanders who had been unable to flee from the firefight in time.

Already, the two gangs had been exchanging fire for some time now with the Wyrd Bears making a lot of progress into the territory of the Gully Men. The Wyrd Bears may have once been hesitant would have thought twice about making an all out attack on their rivals, but not now though for whoever it was that recently had been in a fight with the Gully Men had sure killed a whole lot of them. They could tell for there was a strong lack of enemy bikers with more than a few of the Gully Men sporting heavy wounds caused by laser fire

The gang of the Wyrd Bears were now dressed in a manner, similar to the ancient garbs their ancestors had once worn in the days before the Corpse King's followers had ruled this world. Each man was equipped with a series of chain links or leather harnesses which wrapped around his torso, many wore spiked pauldrons made from scrap metal and belts which displayed gang signs. Some wore trousers while others wore kilts made from leather or scavenged cloth, all in all though, each ganger left his heavily muscled body exposed, a sign of great courage and daring amongst the gangers.

Embracing the drug induced High as Spook still coursed through his system, he caught glimpses of the future and with it, he knew when a Gully Man would stick his head out or when one would try to shoot at him. The recoil his Heavy Stubber immediately ceased and its roar was soon replaced by a clicking sound as the ammunition drum of his weapon was emptied. Hopping off of the top of the car and taking cover behind it, he paid no attention to his fellow gang members as they continued to pour more fire upon the Gully Men.

Slapping a fresh ammo drum into his gun and hearing the satisfying click, he felt eager to unleash another storm of lead but another vision soon came into his mind's eye. For a single moment which was merely just a second in the material world, Ulen Karr watched a scene as several fancy looking ground cars sped down roads which were familiar to him. Driving the vehicles were several slant eyed Arisakan men wearing posh grey suits and carrying a variety of energy weapons and swords.

Shaking his head as the premonition faded away, Ulen then looked to nearest of his fellow gangers and shouted 'We got company coming back at Charon Street, round up the boys and get ready!'

'Aye boss!' obeyed the ganger as he stood up and took another shot at the Gully Men and managing to wing one of them. The Wyrd Bear ganger soon left and Ulen saw the man gather up some of his fellows. The gang leader then brought his right hand down to the side of his belts and he gently removed a syringe filled with Spook.

Just a little pick me up he thought as he injected the drug into his left arm and he began to feel the pull of the Spirit Realm once more. With his mouth widening into a grin, the mind's eye of Ulen Karr foresaw many events of the near future and all he saw was victory.

* * *

Stepping out of the Ember Blade with a wary look over his shoulder, Ellarian could not help but feel a bit unnerved by the hostile stares some of the aliens had been giving both he and the Rogue Trader.

'Oh no you don't you little shits!' suddenly shouted Merelen Cyierk as she swiftly drew her two laser pistols from their holsters and opened fire at the gang of gretchin and snotlings who were attempting to scavenge parts from the blue painted bike she had earlier used. A surprisingly accurate volley of red laser bolts burst from the barrels of her guns and four greenskins were mercilessly cut down in a blink of an eye. The remaining greenskins were quick to flee as they filled the air with their high-pitched shrieks. The human female then gave a disdainful snort and she looked to Ellarian with her face still covered by her gas mask.

'Only on Nussara VII can you actually get yourself jacked by grotz' she said with contempt as her voice was muffled by the sound of her mask.

Ellarian simply stared at the human with his head slightly tilted to his right. He then looked back to see the armed Tau disc machines and he saw that their guns were now aimed on both he and the Rogue Trader. The human female then looked to the machines as well and she quickly holstered her pistols.

'Come on, let's get out of here' the Rogue Trader then said as she motioned her head with an upwards nod towards the bike.

Ellarian felt a bit of apprehension at this for he had never willingly traveled aboard one of the crudely made _Mon'keigh_ vehicles before. He was immediately worried about the possibility of the it breaking down or exploding on them while it was in motion for human manufactured vehicles were only slightly less crude and ramshackle when compared to those of the orks. Whispering a quite prayer to the Old Gods, Ellarian hoped this ride would not become his last as he followed the human.

The Rogue Trader mounted the blue bike with the still burning wreckages and bleeding corpses not far away. Ellarian watched with interest as she put one leg over the side of the bike while holding on to a pair of bars which were most likely for steering the vehicle. The human then gave a downward kick upon some of its mechanisms and the engines of the machine roared to life with a growl as blackish smoke sputtered from a tube at the back.

You are a damned fool the Ranger thought to himself for he remembered that the last time he had tried to get aboard a human vehicle, it had been an Imperial Guard armoured personnel carrier. Back when he had still been fighting amongst the Guardian Companies of his Craftworld, Ellarian had tried to save his squadron while they were pinned down by _Mon'keigh_ gunfire.

With the assistance of the warlock who had led their squad, Ellarian had managed to go from cover to cover to get behind the vehicle and shoot the Guardsman who had been operating the heavy slug thrower placed atop the hatch of the vehicle. Once on top, he saw the body get pulled down and another human came up wielding a pistol. Ellarian had quickly then shot that _Mon'keigh_ in the face with a shuriken catapult before tossing an entire bandolier of primed Plasma Grenades down the hatch of the transport.

Following the human female's lead and climbing upon the seat behind Merelen Cyierk, he found it quite uncomfortable as he soon heard the engines rev up again. Tightly holding on to the sides of the seat and praying once more to the Old Gods, he felt the sudden shift of motion and before he knew it, they were speeding off with the wind at their backs.

* * *

Taking a deep breath which caused the cigar placed between his lips to burn and char into crumbling ash, Krodien looked up and blew out a great puff of smoke into air from the side of his mouth as he gazed upon the now orange skies of Nussara VII. Lying upon his back with classical music playing into his ears from a portable device of local manufacture which lay in one of his pockets, he was currently located upon the top of a six story building with the northern edge right next to his head. He saw that the sun was now setting and he felt the temperature dropping but he was hardly bothered by the cold for he wore a thick black coat which covered up the old carapace breastplate which protected his barreled chest and shoulders.

Standing up to four and a half feet high and just as wide, Krodien was a stocky figure whose measurements were not unusual for his kind. Placing his gloved right hand over his mouth and using his thick right index and middle finger to pick up the cigar, he removed the stick which was made from actual tobacco and he blew out another cloud of smoke as he tapped the bottom of the cigar to his sides.

Just a matter of time now he thought with patience. He had a contract at the moment and his employer had informed him that the mark was going to be passing here. Exactly how the employer knew that the target would be here, at these very coordinates and at what time was beyond him, maybe with some psyker witchery he thought with unease because his employer certainly had that look which unnerved him.

What matters was that he got paid thought Krodien as he ran his left hand over his long brown beard which reached to his belly. Placing his cigar back upon his lip and looking at his Chronometer, he saw that it would soon show time soon. Helping himself up to a seated position, he reached for the sniper rifle which lay next to him.

It was not the standard Long-Las used by the Imperial Guard, rather it was a solid slug firing sniper rifle with a silencer attachment, the kind often favored by ratlings. Inhaling one last time while filling up his system with nicotine, he flicked away the cigar and got up while using the rifle which was even bigger than he was to help him. Turning around and placing the rifle upon weathered rockcrete railing, he looked down the sights and to his surprise he saw the targets.

There was a group of six fancy looking ground cars on the asphalt road which were traveling in a neat convoy. He also noticed the blue painted bike with two people riding upon it to the left of the convoy. Flicking the safety off of his rifle, Krodien adjusted his aim as he calculated for the distance and the direction of the wind. He had some rather strangely specific set of instruction from his employer on when to shoot, as such he quietly began to count as the bike was now next to the car in the center of the convoy.

With a toothy grin creasing across his bearded face, he was ready to take the shot and make some easy money.

* * *

Tightly gripping the hilt of his _Gunt__ō _which was still sheathed within it saya, Reijiro impatiently leaned back while tapping his left fingers upon the section of the ground car's rear left door, next to the window. The holo-display which was placed between the passenger compartment and the driver's compartment showed that their convoy was near where the gangers were fighting. It was a good thing that they still kept those old Skull Probes to monitor things for them from time to time for a number of them were now keeping track of the ensuing battle and updating their information.

Looking outside to see the filthy, rubbish strewn streets pass them by, he occasionally saw a few people here and there. It rankled at Reijiro to be stuck in this dump of a city; he wished that he was back in Keirad Hive down south where a lot of the real profits and action was. He had his orders though and it would be remiss of him not to obey it, the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go home he thought with impatience.

Watching as more of the streets passed them by, he noticed that the car was beginning to slow down and he saw the fresh damage and the bodies which began to litter the street. Should be close now, he thought as a loud beeping began to emit from the holo-display and a sign appeared, signaling of an incoming call from the second to the last car at the back of the convoy.

Tapping a finger on the display, towards a tap which depicted a green, upside down U, he heard the voice of one of his men speak in Imperial Gothic, just as he preferred.

'Hey boss' came the cautious voice of the man on the other side 'you got to see this'.

The display then instantly shifted to show an image outside of one of the cars and to the right of the convoy, he saw a blue painted bike pass the second to the last car and he clearly saw a leather coated fellow with a bolero hat and a gasmask. Instinctively, he knew that it was the stranger who had gunned down so many of the Gully Men.

'They are coming this way boss' came the voice of the driver as he was located on the front right section of the ground car, no doubt that the driver was looking at the side mirror.

Looking to one of his henchmen who was seated behind the driver, Reijiro quickly ordered; 'Daisuke, roll down the window and shoot out the tires of that bike!'

'Yes sir!' replied the henchman as he pulled out a small Laser Pistol from underneath his suit and began to roll down the window. Looking over his right shoulder so he could see the rear window, Reijiro saw the bike with the gas masked stranger closing near his car which was at the front of the convoy. The driver kept its eyes on the road ahead but the passenger was studying the group of ground cars.

As the bike was about to pass them by, Reijiro heard a loud _tunng _sound from the front of the car and a grunt from Daisuke as the driver suddenly began to jerk the car's movements, he felt something warm and wet touch his face, it smelled of copper. 'What the he-' he shouted to the driver and he stopped mid-sentence as he saw fresh the blood which was spattered around the driver's seat. Most notably, he saw the large bloody which was blown away from the driver who was still holding on to the wheel and the dead man collapsed to his left.

'Oh shi-' cursed Reijiro as the car soon lost control and the next thing he knew they swerved across the asphalt road with the wheels screeching loudly. He saw that the car was heading straight to the nearest building which had been on their left. He felt and heard the powerfully loud impact as the vehicle struck the wall and soon everything went black.

* * *

'Isha's Tears!' shouted Ellarian in his native language with a startle as one of the ground vehicles to their left suddenly swerved straight into a building with a loud crash of metal scraps and glass.

'Hold on!' came the voice of Merelen Cyierk and they suddenly turned to their right and into another street with the ranger suddenly reaching out to hold on to the human. He was about to ask what was going on but before he even could, he heard the heavy sound of gunfire from the street behind them. Briefly looking back at the convoy of vehicles, he saw the glass windows shatter and sparks exploded from the hulls as a hailstorm of crude bullets slammed into them.

Lord of Murder! he thought, had the Rogue Trader not taken a turn, they could have been exposed to the volley of fire.

'Fething Gangers!' shouted Merelen Cyierk angrily as they drove onwards. 'If it is not one sump-sucking gang of assholes you run into, it will be another bunch of feth-headed bunch of assholes you run into!'

It sounded like the human female knew this area quite well he thought. Looking back to see if they were being followed, Ellarian saw that the road behind them was clear, he felt only slightly relieved at this but at the same time he also felt wary of any other possible dangers ahead.

'You can let go now, you know' said the Rogue Trader

Looking back to the human female, his face immediately reddened underneath his helmet as he noticed that his hand were holding on to her chest. Releasing his grip and quickly going back to hold on to the sides of the seat again, he was quick to offer many apologies to her.

'Yeah… well just don't make it a habit, because the first time was already embarassing enough' the human then said as they took another turn to the left.

Travelling in an awkward silence as they rode past more streets, the Outcast decided to quietly observe their surroundings. Crudely painted markings were placed across many of the walls and even the windows of the buildings around them, it reminded him somewhat of the tribal markings used by greenskin tribes… sans the dung effigies of course. On the sides of the streets, he saw several humans going about their business; many had a lean, hungry and impoverished look to them with more than a few openly carrying guns or blades.

Although he had been in urban area such as these before, back when he was still a Guardian, he realized that he had never seen what it was like to be living in such a squalid place. He had known before that _Mon'keigh_ tended to operate on some sort of strict societal hierarchy with very clear signs and differences between the upper and lower classes. He guessed that the part of the city he had been in when he arrived was one of the higher class areas for the area was significantly cleaner with the humans seeming to be of a healthier stock, it also seemed safer as he noticed the way some of the bystanders looked at them.

Onwards they traveled until he saw that the sky above was now dark and a glow of artificial lights illuminated the night. He heard the human female say that they were getting close to, wherever it was they were going and on the road ahead he saw a dazzling array of bright holo-lights.

They began to slow down and Ellarian heard the Rogue Trader speak 'all right, here where we get off and ditch this bike, we can reach the safe house on foot from here.' With a quiet nod, Ellarian allowed the human to park the bike on the side of the road where a rather suspicious looking trio of humans had gathered under a metal pole which had a light generating sphere at the top.

Glad to be getting off of the bike for his rear felt more than a bit sore now, Ellarian watched as the human female shut down the vehicle. The trio of humans looked at the bike with interest, the Ranger noted the way they were looking at the two of them and he guessed that they were contemplating on whether they should rob them.

'No need for that' Merelen Cyierk said to them as she twisted a small metal object on the side of the bike below the handle. She then tossed the metal object at the trio who frantically tried to catch; two of them comically bumped their head onto each other. 'Come on, let's go' the human female then said as she got off and began walking ahead towards the area of the city with the many lights.

Glancing back at the trio of humans, Ellarian saw them huddled over the bike with one of them trying to start its engine. They succeeded in starting up the machine once more and with a triumphant cheer, they soon began bickering on who would get to drive it. Turning his gaze back to the road ahead of them Ellarian wondered what sort of place they were now entering.

* * *

With heavy steps as he walked ahead, Ulen Karr cautiously looked about the area, checking if there were any more of the Gully Men. The bodies of his gang's rivals were now cooling in the streets as many of his boys were busily looting. The Gully Men's territory was now theirs he thought, word would now be spreading that the Wyrd Bears gang were the top dogs in the Dis district.

Now located at the front of an old Arbites Precinct, it was not lost on Ulen how the Gully Men held on to some old monument of the Corpse King. It was a tall and wide structure which from above he supposed that it would form a large square which rose up to five stories. The walls were solidly built as the tales went for during the Liberation War, it was said that the xenos Tau and the local Liberation Forces were forced to bring up anti-armour weapons.

In the end though as the tales went, it seemed that other xenos auxiliary forces who had been working for the Tau had managed to infiltrate the Precinct and wipe out the Imperial defenders. It was all in the past now, stories from before his time. What mattered now was that the guidance of the Bear Spirit had led them to this great victory and all it asked was a price which he was willing to pay for.

Within the Precinct, the Bear Spirit had told him that was something important inside, something which if Ulen was able to get it; the Bear Spirit would help him realize his dream. It was no time to get cocky just yet though; there was a good chance that there were still some more of the Gully Men around the building. With a deep breath, the gang boss cautiously entered the old Precinct, literally taking another step, closer to his destiny.

* * *

When Ellarian had first arrived on this world, he had been fascinated by the sights he had seen from the many holo-displays. It was day time when he had first seen the light, but now that night had fallen, it had taken a very alluring quality (in a crude sort of way). Bright neon-lights filled the air around them with the gaudy glows of dozens of colours, most displaying items or slogans while music played here and there from street performers or from the buildings as the voices of countless humans mingled with the cacophony of steps and the honking of ground vehicles.

The buildings in this area of the city were significantly much taller than the ones he had first seen with more than a few rivaling the height of a titan. Large holo-light signs were displayed from many of the buildings as well and Ellarian even saw many airborne transportation vehicles similar to the Skyrunners of the Craftworlds fly by while right above them. There were also several brightly coloured Tau disc machines which floated directly above the crowds, most bore holo-displays while others which were instead armed with weapons had more uniformed colour schemes.

Between the tall buildings which surrounded them, Ellarian saw bridges and arches from which pedestrians and even vehicles could travel. The sight of this somewhat reminded the Outcast of the Hive Cities used by the Imperium. He never understood how the humans could even conceive building such monstrously insane feats of architecture, all it would probably take is to cut the power or water supply and the place would become a mass grave.

There was a vibrancy and energy here thought Ellarian with fascination as he saw several humans and even a few members of other species in a variety of different garments and colours. Merchants and peddlers hawked wares on the streets, mostly either food items or trinkets while patrols of armoured human soldiers proudly bearing the insignia of the Tau Empire kept a vigilant eye for any trouble.

'Now we take a left from here' said Merelen Cyierk as she gently grabbed his right hand and led him around the corner of a city block.

Ellarian looked up to see a tall metal pole with a bright red holo-sign which depicted a winking human female who had placed an index finger over her lips. Tilting his head and wondering if it was some sort of advertisement for an item, he brought his gaze back to the ground around him. Quickly, Ellarian noted that the garments of the humans in this area had changed or more precisely, the lack of garments was very noticeable.

'What is this?' asked the Ranger with curiosity and the Rogue Trader looked back to him, with her gas mask still on, Ellarian could obviously not tell what his companion's expression was.

'Well this is the… uh… Red Street' she then said a bit hesitantly.

'Red Street?' questioned Ellarian still a bit confused.

'Yeah… it's the sort of place where a lot of guys come to… uh, whet their wicks' answered Merelen Cyierk with a bit awkwardly. Again, Ellarian's answer was silence for he did not quite understand what she meant but he was beginning to have some suspicions as he looked around.

'It's the sort of place where people go and pay for sex' the human woman finally then said.

'Ah, I see' replied Ellarian with understanding. The last time he had been to a similar place was that one particular establishment back in Khai-dazaar; it was an experience where he could still not decide on whether it was an enjoyable or horrifying one.

'Well it's not like I sell my own ass or anything!' quickly said the human female in a defensive manner 'I just have a friend here who was nice enough to offer a place.'

'I make no judgment' Ellarian then said as he raised both hands up with palms facing the Rogue Trader as they passed by groups of other humans, mostly females who wore rather revealing and vulgar garments. There were also a number of human males who wore heavy makeup and were dressed in garments which seemed more appropriate if worn by the opposite gender. Such odd creatures the _Mon'keigh_ could be he thought.

Continuing to follow Merelen Cyierk, she eventually led him into one of the local establishments where several holo-displays were placed at the front, each one depicted the face of a different human female. At the doorway of the establishment, he saw a massive Ogryn guard with his arms crossed while wearing a surprisingly clean, black garments which had a professional look to it. Ellarian was somewhat surprised to see one of the brutish creatures up close, especially because it was not trying to bash his skull in… yet. The Ogryn guard gave them a glance and the Rogue Trader removed her hat and gas mask. The guard then gave soft smile before allowing the two of them through.

'You can take your helmet off if you want' came the voice of the human woman as looked to Ellarian, as she ran a gloved hand over her white hair. With a nod, Ellarian pulled down his hood and removed his helmet, he heard the hiss of air escape the sealed environment and the first thing he smelled was the smoke generated by the passing of human ground vehicles, surprisingly, he found no strong body odour from the Ogryn guard. The entrance of the door slid open to the side and the Rogue Trader stepped in with the Ranger following her.

The Interior of the establishment was a rather dark den where glowing holo-lights lit up the space. Ellarian picked up the smell of chemical agents in air, not the deadly and lethal kind of course, but the type he believed were used for cleaning. The smell of the chemicals was mixed with that of smoke from those rolled paper tubes filled with dried plant substances.

In the dim shadows of the darkened interior, he saw several more of the scantily dressed human woman of whom were casually mingling in groups. Glowing ends of burning paper tubes were placed between the lips of many of the females, some of them were even eyeing the Ranger with what seemed to be interest.

'Well looks like you came back alive after all _vebla'_ Came a deep husky voice to their left.

Looking to where the voice had come from, Ellarian saw a rather plump and older human female who located behind the counter with several glass bottles and containers around her, it was similar to the one he had seen at the Ember Blade. The female who had spoken was gaudily dressed in a long sleeved garment of purple with a red bodice. The other human female had black and purple hair which was oddly styled at the back with a massive bun which made it look as if a large egg was placed behind her head.

'And you have company too' said the human female as she quietly appraised the Ranger 'I didn't realize that you actually were not interested with... Men.'

'And a good evening to you Madam Tsvetkova' nodded the Rogue Trader in a friendly tone. 'He is just a friend who helped me out in a bad situation' Merelen Cyierk then said as she pointed her right thumb over his shoulder, towards Ellarian.

'Whatever you say _vebla_' grinned the other human woman and at a closer look, Ellarian noted that this Madam Tsvetkova had a mechanical right hand which was plated with a silvery chrome. Now that he looked at it, he could see that this other humans's right arm was subtly larger compared to the left, perhaps the rest of the arm was mechanical?

'Have any of my "associates" dropped by?' asked Merelen Cyierk a bit anxiously.

'Yes actually' replied Madam Tsvetkova as she bent down and picked something up from underneath the counter. The other human female came back up while handing out to the Rogue Trade, a small light brown paper container, an envelope Ellarian believed it was called. 'It was delivered yesterday by a tall, strong and handsome fellow, I promise that neither I nor my girls have opened it' said the other woman with a smile as she handed the envelope to Merelen Cyierk.

'You have my thanks then' nodded the Rogue Trader as she then looked to Ellarian and gesture for him to follower her. 'See you soon Madam' said the Rogue Trader with a slight bow of her head and a smile.

'You too _Vebla_' she then before turning her gaze towards Ellarian and she gave him a warm smile 'any friend of Cyierk's is a friend of mine then Eldar'

'Ellarian' said the Ranger as he gave a formal bow and polite quick farewell as he turned away from this Madam Tsvetkova and went after the Rogue Trader.

Both himself and the Rogue Trader stepped into a metal chamber set within a section of the wall near the bar area. The doors of the chamber closed shut and it began to rumble with Ellarian being able to tell that they were going up. It was a short journey of less than a minute which ended with an audible _ding_ sound.

The doors of the metal chamber opened up to reveal a wide hallway with several doors to their left and right. Merelen Cyierk then stepped out with Ellarian following her, she led him down the hall and after five doors she stopped in front of one and turned to face the one to their right. The Rogue Trader then reached into one of her pockets and produced a small metal object, a key most likely.

Placing the key into the knob of the door, Ellarian realized just how primitive, yet simple such a thing was. The human woman then pushed the door open and she stepped through with the Ranger still following. The next room they went into was a rather small space with a single large bed, a metal and glass display screen in front, a nearby desk made from a hardened plastic and to his right, he saw a well polished mirror which caught the reflection of a wall with a metal door in the center of it.

'It's not much I guess, but for now it's home sweet home' said Merelen Cyierk as she placed her gloved hand on the mirror and to Ellarian's surprise, she was sliding it to the side. It was a door of sorts he realized with interest, he then looked to see what was behind the door and all he saw was a simple closet with several hanging pieces of clothing.

'Feel free to stay here as long as you like then' said the Rogue Trader as she deposited her hat, gas mask, boots and coat into the closet.

As the human female removed her coat, Ellarian noticed that underneath it, she was wearing a rather form-fitting black body suit made from a hardened material. By his guess, it was somewhat similar in purpose in comparison to the wraithbone breastplate he wore which was both light and easy to move in, a sort of body armour ideal for those who favor speed or stealth. Around the Rogue Trader, he also noticed that she wore a harness with multiple pouches, satchels and bandoliers attached to it.

Aside from the two laser pistols which were holstered on the sides of her waists, the human female also carried a third and a fourth gun. The former, from what Ellarian could see was a heavy looking double barreled handgun which was holstered across the left side of her stomach underneath the breast while the latter was a significantly smaller gun which was holstered underneath her right forearm, close to the wrist with the barrel facing the elbow. Across her chest, he also saw a bandolier which could contain four grenades, one of which was already missing.

'Checking me out again I see? Couldn't get enough of it the first time around?' said the Rogue Trader rather teasingly and Ellarian looked away with his face reddening again as he vividly remembered how their "first meeting" had been.

'My apologies, for that' replied Ellarian with embarrassment, to be honest though it was probably more embarrassing for the human.

'Well you gave me a free meal and made sure I didn't freeze to death, so I will forgive you for that one time' the human woman then said with a shrug.

'What now then?' asked Ellarian for he still had the Prince's message to deliver.

'We wait and see if we get the call' replied the Rogue Trader as she went towards the door across the mirror and she opened it to reveal a small room which Ellarian believed was a lavatory. 'Other than that though I got some things I need to take care of, so yeah, feel free to relax here' repeated the Rogue Trader as she closed the door.

Now alone within the room, Ellarian couldn't fault the logic of simply waiting for the call. Following the human's lead and depositing his cloak, helmet and boots inside the closet and afterwards, he decided to survey the room a little. There were only three light sources in the room, the first was a small glass bulb in the hall which emitted a bright yellow light while in the main section of the room where the bed was, there was large glass dome which also emitted a similar light.

The last light source was a curtained window located beside the desk. The curtain in question looked to be made from a synthetic cloth and around it's edges, Ellarian could see the faint glow of the outside. With curiosity, he walked towards the windows and he slide the curtains away.

The Ranger's eyes widened in wonderment at the sight of more neon holo-display, air transports gently sped to and fro above him and down below he could see many distant figures walking about the streets. Perhaps he should go do some exploring he thought with a bit of excitement for he now had a place to rest and stay. Hearing a slight grumble from his stomach, Ellarian thought that perhaps getting something to eat should be his first priority.


	5. Good Things, Small Packages

The sound of gunfire filled the halls of the old Precinct as the two gangs waged their war, bullets had dug holes into the walls which were now freshly caked with blood and fresh bodies now filled the floors. Ulen had to admit that the Gully Men had guts for none of the steroid-addicted Corpse Prayers had bothered to surrender or flee. They were probably high on some drugs to give them or had whipped themselves into one of their fanatical frenzies.

He was close now, he could feel it, and the price which the Bear Spirit demanded was nearby. Keeping his back to the wall with a corner to his left, Ulen now held on to a shotgun he had claimed from a dead Gully Man, his Heavy Stubber had been left at the entrance of the Precinct. Having foreseen that there were enemies waiting for him at the end of the corridor to his left, he reached for a grenade at the side of belt and with one hand he removed the pin.

Tossing the grenade into the corridor, he heard the surprised shouts of the Gully Men who had been waiting for him. A second later, he heard the loud explosion of the grenade going off as it unleashed a hail of shrapnel. Looking to the corridor to see where the Gully Men had been, he was greatly pleased to see that the barricades which would have blocked his path was now destroyed; the only sign of the Gully Men defenders was the gobbets of meat which splattered across the walls.

Moving down the corridor with two men at his back, the Wyrd Bears encountered no further resistance. Eventually, the corridor ended with a large metal door, a vault which bore a single a large =I= on it. To the side of the vault on his right, there was a console with small panel bearing dozen buttons underneath it, cursing under his breath, the gang boss knew what sort of device this was but he did not know what was its pass code was.

Taking out another syringe of Spook, he injected himself on the side of his neck and he felt the rush as the drug coursed through his system anew. His mind's eye opened once more and he cast his gaze towards the console. Images of the past began to flash through his mind; he saw several sinister looking men and women with fancy hats making use of this vault's console.

His right hand hovered in front of the console and used his right index finger to press the buttons which represented a numerical symbol on each one. Pressing the numbers zero, five, zero, three, two, he saw that the console lit up with a greenish light and a rumbling sound began to emerge from the vault. The heavy metal door slid open with a loud series of clicks and ringing of metal as a rush of stale air wafted out from the vault, for all he knew, it must have been several decades since it was last opened.

There was something there, within the vault which began to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand and his skin crawl with goose-flesh. He could have sworn that he could hear faint whispers at the edge of his hearing and that he saw movement within the darkness. The interior of the vault was a simple corridor, lined with strange sigils, insignias and wax seals with strips of paper attached to it.

Taking a deep breath of the stale air, he told his guards to stay put before stepping passed the metal door and he could have sworn that the whispers and voices became louder the further he went in. The path ahead was lit by flickering lamps upon the ceiling and at the end, he saw a door of metal with a glass window set into it. His steps echoed as his booted feet landed upon the floor and strange images began to flash through his mind's eye, images of a life that was not his own.

He saw an ancient city of steel and stone rising up to the sky like a mountain with its roots burying deep into the earth. He saw countless billions of men and women living together in cramped, claustrophobic corridors as they were exposed to ages old build-ups of chemical pollutants. Among these people, he saw an old man dressed in dark red robes, a cruel looking knife was held in his hands as he carved strange symbols into the living flesh of other human beings.

He saw the old man in chains, led away by the sinister agents of the Corpse Emperor who bore the symbol of the =I=. The old man was then led to this very corridor which Ulen stepped in; his robes were replaced by rags as a pair of heavily armoured and armed women in black and red armour escorted the old man to the door ahead Ulen. The old man was then left in what clearly some sort of prison cell, food and water was had been brought to the old man at a regular pace while a cybernetic thrall of the machine priests cleaned up his wastes.

Eventually, the food and water stopped coming and the lights just went out. The old man was left in the darkness for who knows how long, left to die a slow, agonizing death. As the vision ceased, Ulen Karr found himself standing at the end of the hall, a small button was placed upon the wall next to the door leading to the cell. Peering through the glass pane on the metal door, he found the remains of the old man from his vision, nothing more than a desiccated, withered husk lying on its back.

The old man had something which the Bear Spirit wanted, perhaps he just needed to get the skull or a piece of bone. Pressing the button beside the door, he saw the door quickly slide away to the left and once more he was assailed by stale air and a musty smell. Cautiously advancing towards the ancient corpse, there was something at the back of Ulen's mind which told him to run and not look back.

Kneeling down beside the corpse, he placed his shotgun on the floor and removed a heavy knife. Placing the knife near the neck of the corpse, he intended to sever the head but as he was about to touch the corpse, its hands suddenly sprang up and it held his wrists with an iron grip. The corpse's eyes opened to revealed yellow, rheumy eyes which burned with a lavender fire, its mouth opened widely at an impossible angle to reveal cracked, blackened teeth as a dry moan escaped its throat.

Ulen Karr shouted and tried to get it off of him; he struggled with all of his might as a dry whispering sound escaped its withered mouth. Hearing footsteps from the corridor behind him, he saw his guards come running to his aid. Continuing to struggle with the thing, Ulen tried to call upon the power of the Spirit Realm and he saw a black mist flow out from the mouth of the corpse.

The black mist swiftly escaped from the ancient corpse, it writhed in the air for a moment as the withered hands which gripped Ulen began to lessen. It then flew towards the gang leader of the Wyrd Bear, the mist entered his mouth and nostrils and he was knocked back as if someone had hit him with a sledge hammer. Blackness filled the vision of Ulen Karr as he heard gunfire echo within the prison cell, yet it sounded very distant to him.

'Hey boss? You okay? Boss?' asked the voice of one of his guards and he felt strong hands giving him a shake.

'I am… fine…' rasped the gang leader with a ragged breath.

'Shit bro, we got to get the boss out of here!' said the other guard in a rather unnerved tone "this places is giving me the creeps.

'Come on and help me with him' said the first as the two helped the gang leader to his feet with his arms around their shoulders. As the two Wyrd Bear gangers worked together to help their boss out of the room, a weak smile and a dry laugh escaped the lips of the gang leader who whispered so softly that none of his men could hear

'From the fires of Betrayal...' whispered a voice that was not entirely that of Ulen Karr's.

* * *

Pain filled his senses as he slowly opened his eyes, he could hear the sounds of heavy breathing and footsteps, There was a pressure on the underside his arms and he knew that someone was dragging him across the ground. A fresh flare of agony coursed through his skull and he hoped that it was not fractured, as his vision slowly cleared, Reijiro glanced back and saw the face of one of his hencmen.

'It's all right boss' the henchman who was named Okubo had a bald head with several dragon tattoos across his scalp, Okubo looked up for a moment and then continued 'we managed to get you out of the car and away from the gangers.'

'What happened?' growled Reijiro and he could have sworn that one of his teeth were chipped.

'The Wyrd Bears had a sniper who killed your driver boss, you were lucky to survive the firefight after' replied Okubo.

'Were you able to get that damn sniper?' asked Reijiro as he tapped Okubo on the left arm and the man gently set him down. As he tried to get back up on his feet, a fresh wave of dizziness engulfed him and he was forced to support himself by holding on to the surface of a nearby wall. By the Emperor he thought, he may have a concussion.

'No boss, we didn't but we got word that the Skull Probes have been sent out to track the gangers, the sniper and that bike which passed us' Okubo then said.

'What of the Gully Men then?' Rejiro asked once more.

'It's all over for them boss' came the answer of Okubo who then added 'the _Oyabun_ is going to be pissed'

Rising up to his full height and rolling his shoulders in their sockets, Reijiro felt a slight plain upon his right arm but was confident that nothing was broken. Making a quick headcount of the men who had followed them, he found that there were a dozen of them still alive out of thirty. Suddenly, Reijiro was alarmed for he did not feel the familiar weight of his sword to the side of his belt but was relieved in the next moment as he saw that his sword was dangling from the side of Okubo's belt.

'Let me worry about that later' Reijiro then said as he regained his composure and began to roll his neck. 'Tell the men to keep their eyes open, we are not out of this yet' he then finished as he kept a wary open to their surroundings.

'Hai' obeyed Okubo who quickly began to assist in reorganizing the others.

The survivors of the _Zanryū Imperialis _Hit Squadroncontinued to travel down the streets of the Dis District in a defensive formation for the danger posed by opportunistic gangers was still very much a real threat. Within the hearts of the survivors though, oaths of vengeance in the name of the Emperor were sworn by each man at the dishonour they had received from these lowly gangers.

* * *

Hovering above the crowds of mostly human civilians which went about their businesses in the night, several Tau Drones with product advertisement or government propaganda modifications displayed a wide variety of information and images from holo-screens. Police Drones could also be found hovering about here and there, each one armed with twin-linked electro-dart launcher, an excellent weapon for taking down criminals in a non-lethal manner.

Among the floating devices though, two machines would have greatly stood out if anyone had the senses to notice. The two old Skull Probes silently hovered above the streets of Jasserus City's innermost District known as the Acropolis. Each of the Skull Probes had been located in different sections of the District but they were now converging upon one location.

The first probe, designated as AT-049 had been sent ahead to monitor the fighting between the two gangs but it had noted the individual who had originally been on the rooftop of a residential complex. The individual of whom was noted by its Machine Spirit was a rather short but burly specimen with large degree of facial hair. The individual had been responsible for operating and firing a solid-projectile based sniper rifle at the Probe's masters with three armour-piercing rounds.

The first round had caused severe damage to the first ground car which crashed into another residential complex while the second and third had blown out the front tires of the car behind the first. The stocky individual then quickly extracted itself from the rooftop of the residential complex and soon it fled from the premises aboard a three wheeled ground vehicle designated as a trike. Ever since then, At-049 had been following the individual from the massive urban sector designated, Dis District.

At first, the stocky and bearded sniper had ridden down several streets, its destination was unclear, had the sniper noticed it? Questioned the Machine Spirit within the Probe. The sniper drove to an establishment called McKroots, a chain business of off-world origin which mainly sold swiftly cooked meat substitute based products. After approximately ten minutes and thirty two seconds the sniper left the premises and drove off to the current District.

The second probe which was designated SC-859 had on the other hand been following the convoy of its masters from Manzanar district. It had picked up the presence of a similar two wheeled vehicle, a bike which had borne the insignia of the local street gang designated, Gully Men but oddly, the vehicle was being driven by unknown individuals who did not bear the colours or any of the assorted visual markings associated with the gang. The appearance of the one driving the vehicle had matched the description of the individual who had been waging a running battle with the Gully Men earlier within the cycle.

One of the masters at the front of the convoy had ordered one of the others to shoot at the bike. The sniper round interrupted the shot and the ensuing hail of fire from the enemy target street gang, designated; Wyrd Bears had caused the two upon the bike to veer away. The Probe had then followed the two riding upon the bike, it noted the odd shape and equipment of the one riding as a passenger upon the bike, and the Machine Spirit within the probe quickly designated the passenger as one of the Xenos breeds designated as Eldar.

The two probes had maintained contact with one another as well as uploading data to the Central Control Unit in the Command Center at the Manzanar District. The journey of the two probes had not been difficult but once they reached the proximity of the Acropolis District, stealth and reconnaissance protocols had been engaged to avoid detection from the Tau Drones. The Probes were now converging towards a single complex within the District, each of the Probes then began to scan the structure for identification.

The Machine Spirit of the CCU processed the data from the Probes; it began to cross-reference its data-banks until it found the name and address of the complex. Designated simply as "The Red Bokha Gentlemen's Club", the establishment was one of many in the Red Street which peddled in human flesh. The Machine Spirit quickly began making calculations for several possible scenarios and its answer was inconclusive.

More data would be required before a full-course of action must be taken; in the meantime however, it ordered the two Probes to continue monitoring the complex. Already, the CCU had sent a request for an operative team to investigate the three individuals who had traveled by vehicle. Rather unexpectedly, a Hit Squad from the affiliated Arkos Syndicate had already been sent to apprehend one of the three.

The CCU then resumed its monitoring of not only Probes SC-859 and AT-049 but also the information of dozens of other probes. It seemed that there were many happenings going around Jasserus City, a disturbing pattern was noted by the Machine Spirit, one which matched records from more than a century earlier. The CCU finally sent its latest findings to the nearest head of the _Zanryū Imperialis_ as well as an encrypted message to the other branches across Nussara VII.

There was a high probability that if the CCU Machine Spirit's theories were true, then every available follower, still loyal to the God-Emperor of Terra would be needed for the coming engagement.

* * *

Seated now upon the soft bed within the main room, Ellarian was deciding over whether he should consume one of his rations or perhaps attempt to try consuming human foodstuffs. Normally, he would conserve his rations for emergencies and instead focus on gathering what he could to ensure that the rations lasted longer. In the past, Ellarian had consumed the flesh of animals as well as fruits and vegetable-matter which the humans were also capable of eating with no ill-effect but such food items had been freshly hunted or foraged.

He was now in an urban environment with nothing to hunt but the furry rodents which often populated human cities or the local white feathered avian life-forms which he observed did nothing but fly and defecate. The option of hunting the _Mon'Keigh_ themselves though had crossed his mind but he swift in putting such a thought away for he neither was desperate, nor a Commorite.

There was also the fact that the Ranger had no currency with which to trade for services and goods. He did not wish to borrow any currency from his current companion for it seemed to be of poor taste to do so. Perhaps he could perform as service in exchange for a meal? He thought for amongst the Craftworlds and the Exodites, such practices were common.

That idea was quickly dismissed as well for Ellarian remembered what sort of establishment this was. The mere thought of selling his own flesh was, unnerving to say the least but oddly… suddenly shaking his head, he quickly deciding that it would be a disgusting idea. The Ranger then began to further wrack his mind for any possible alternatives without having to resort to thievery or murder.

To his right, within the other room which he deduced was a lavatory, Ellarian could hear the pattering of water falling from the shower. He had been able to study it earlier and had found many similarities to the what he had seen aboard the _M'yen shi_. Around the room, the only other objects of note he found was the paper which the Rogue Trader had earlier read which came along with a number of small rectangular paper slips and a strange white device which was rectangular in shape.

Studying the rectangular device which was slightly larger than his own hand, Ellrian noted several holo-keys displayed upon it. Pressing one key, he saw the holo-screen in front of him come to life with the large insignia of the Tau Empire upon it. The Tau Empire insignia was soon replaced by an image of a seated Tau wearing robes which reminded him of the merchant he had met earlier, its hands were placed upon the surface of a sterile looking-table.

The Tau on the holo-screen was speaking in the alien language of its species while at the bottom of the screen, letters in Imperial Gothic appeared. The Ranger had not the faintest idea on what the alien was saying but by his guess, it was probably some sort of media feed or perhaps something to do with propaganda. Curious at what else he could see, Ellarian operated the rectangular holo-device again by pressing another key and the image on the screen shifted.

All he saw now was a blue screen with squares on one side depicting different images which he could not tell the nature of as well as some human and tau text next to the boxes. Noticing that one of the boxes was highlighted with a yellow light around the edges, Ellarian tried pressing a different key. The image on the screen shifted again, this time he saw a picture which depicted a blond-haired human female wearing a suit of armour similar to that of the Tau Fire Warriors, yet it was clear that the human was in the process of removing the armour for a lot of he flesh was exposed.

Confused once more at what was going on Ellarian pressed the holo-key again and then the screen went black. The screen then lighted up again and Ellarian saw a scene of a snow-covered forest where the human female from earlier was marching with a pulse rifle in hand, she was wearing armour but no helmet. The Ranger noticed that next to the female, there was a rather tall and burly human male in similar gear with a small curved mustache with pointed downwards.

Crude music was playing in the background and Ellarian could hear the humans on the screen begin to speak . 'This cold will be the death of us _Gue'ves'el_' said the human female in a poor attempt at trying to sound cold and miserable.

'There is an outpost nearby where we can rest and warm up' the human male then said while trying to sound stoic and brave. To Ellarian's eyes and ears, this was all poorly acted for he had been to many plays in the past; he himself had even organized and written a few in his time back on Valseris.

The two humans were suddenly then walking towards a circular structure which resembled the Tau barracks he had seen many passes ago and they entered it. Once inside the two of them began stripping down to tight-fitting bodysuits before huddling around a tube light object which generated an orange light, a heater most like likely.

'I am still so cold sir' the human female then said.

'I got something to warm you up, come here that's an order soldier' the human male replied as he took the female in his arms and the music was played up to sound more dramatic.

Ellarian creased an eyebrow in curiosity, was this some crude attempt at a romantic story? He thought but was quickly proven wrong as his jaw soon dropped for the two humans began to undress each other before fornicating on screen.

'OH SWEET ISHA!' exclaimed Ellarian with a sudden jump of surprise as he accidentally knocked away the rectangular device. The door to the lavatory suddenly opened the next thing he knew, Merelen Cyierk came out wearing nothing at all and holding a gun in her right hand.

'What's happening!? Exclaimed the human female with alarm ash her now naked body was dripping wet from the shower, she looked about the room with a battle-ready alertness in her eyes. 'What's going… on?' she then added with bewilderment now in her voice as she looked to the holo-screen, the rather explicit acts which was going on between the two humans was becoming even more heated.

'Oh what the Feth!? Are you into this sort of thing!?' accused the Rogue Trader in a surprised and disbelieving manner.

'I… I press, accident!' Ellarian replied in a hurried panic as he desperately searched around for a bit while trying to find the rectangular holo-device, the moans and breathing of the coupling humans on the screen was intensifying.

Finally finding the device, he quickly handed it to the Rogue Trader who was more familiar with this sort of technology. As the two humans on the screen seemed like they were about to climax, the image then shifted again, this time, Ellarian saw a Kroot chopping meat with a cleaver and then proudly showing off the chunk of flesh it had cut while words in the Tau language were being spoken. Relief flooded Ellarian who was now filled with embarrassment as he noticed the hard look from Merelen Cyierk.

'You're really trying to make this a normal thing between us, aren't you?' the human then asked with annoyance as she shook her head and covered herself up with her arms and went back towards the restroom, the Ranger had a good view of the female's entire back.

Once more, Ellarian's face was deeply reddened at this brief episode while an uncomfortable look was etched upon his face. Deciding to simply stay still and keep quiet, he also decided to might as well just go with the rations.

* * *

Knocking his head back with a large glass mug to his lip and guzzling down a frothy black drink which tasted a lot like ale, Krodien slammed the container down the now empty container on the bar and gave a loud breath of contentment. It would have been a somewhat comical sight to see him seated on a stool intended for the average human sized folk, especially with his legs dangling down, but most people kept their gobs shut when they see the well maintained chain-axe and bolt pistol dangling from the sides of his waist.

'You sure in a good mood hun' came the sweet voice of the current shifts bartender, a light brown skinned human woman with dyed bright orange hair whose stage name was Firestorm. Like many of the girls at the Red Bokha, Firestorm did not wear a lot of clothing (not that Krodien was complaining) and what little she did; it had a fiery pattern to it which matched the tattoos on her exposed flesh.

'Just came back from an easy job with a big pay waiting for me' grinned Krodien as he gestured for a refill 'I was told that the payer should be here tonight.'

'You ain't worried that the payer won't ditch out?' asked the bartender as she picked up his mug and placed it under the copper tap, an automatic sensor detected the mug, cauing more of the black frothing alien ale to be poured in.

'Not a problem for me' Krodien then said confidently 'I even know where the payer is staying if things get flaky'

The music within the Red Bokha had a mechanical sound to it, often there was a vocal aspect to it which was sung in an ancient tongue from Old Terra. According to Madam Tsvetkova, the language was from a region of Terra where the common ancestors of the Valhallans and the Vostroyans once hailed from. Well Krodien had not absolutely no idea what the lyrics were and he honestly, he didn't care.

The Bokha was not very busy tonight; it was sort of expected on nights like this when most of the regular schmucks still had work the following morning. With a word of thanks to the bartender as she handed him his now filled mug, Krodien raised his drink and cheered _Prost_ before taking another swig. He did not mind having to wait for he had always considered himself to a patient fellow; it was easy when one had fine drinks and even finer company.

By the time he was half-way through his current drink, Krodien finally saw the person he was waiting for. Coming out from the elevator to his right, he saw a rather pale skinned, white haired woman with some elfin features who was wearing a leather duster and a bolero hat. What was also rather notable about the woman's appearance was the high-grade, bionic eyes she sported which generated a soft glow underneath the shade of her hat, that and the two pistols which were holstered to her sides.

Behind the woman, Krodien crinkled his nose at the sight of a tall and slender figure with sharp angular features, an Eldar he thought with disdain. You meet all sorts of people in the galaxy he thought with mild derision, probably one of those weirdo xeno-sexuals you find in the Tau Empire. Well it wasn't really his place to judge what people like to do in their private time he thought with a soft grunt.

'Fine evening for a drink eh?' nodded Krodien in a friendly manner. The white haired woman studied him for a brief moment, no doubt that those cyber-eyes were now collecting a lot of data on him.

'You can say that' replied the woman who reached into her pocket and handed him a folded wad of Imperial Credits.

With a smile creasing on his bearded face, he gently took the bills and said 'pleasure doing business with you'. Just how he liked it he thought, no questions asked, no long speeches, just a quick, straight to business transaction.

The white haired woman nodded and took a sat on a stool to his right with the Eldar sitting on another next to the woman's right. With a shrug, Krodien placed the wad of cash into one of his pockets within the interior of his coat before going back to drinking.

'So how did get the job?' came the voice of the white haired woman as she looked to Krodien with her arms on the surface of the bar.

'Not much to tell really' shrugged Krodien 'client drops by, classy looking lady, who offers the details and terms of payment and I accepted, easy as that.'

'I guess I should be grateful then because that was me and my friend here on that bike' the white haired woman then said as she tilted her head to the Eldar.

'Huh, really?' questioned Krodien with surprise, now that he thought about it, he saw that the woman and the Eldar were wearing the same garments as the ones he saw on the bike. 'Maybe you can thank me by buying another round?' he jokingly then said.

'Well it's only fair I suppose' the woman then said as she called to Firestorm and ordered a round of three drinks.

Must be my lucky night thought Krodien rather cheerfully as he chugged down the remainder of his drink and belched in satisfaction.

* * *

Outside of the Red Bokha Gentlemen's Club, three bulky ground vehicles which were armoured and painted black were parked on the sidewalk across the establishment. Inside each of the vehicles, groups of armed men wearing military grade flak-jackets worn over business-like suits were setting the safety off of loaded autoguns and stubber submachine guns which were fitted with silencers at the end of the barrels. Aboard one of the vehicles, a team of tech experts were sending out a jamming signal to knock out communications in the area as well as hacking into the drone patrols and security cameras.

The armed group needed to make sure that there was no police interference because it would be next to impossible to bribe them if there were any casualties amongst the cops. The plan was simple, hit the place fast and hard, and extract the gunslinger, alive if at all possible. Many of the men did their best to quell the knot of fear in their stomachs for the gunslinger had killed a lot of their guys from across the sector.

The leader of the group, a large man with a bionic arm was carrying a heavy auto gun, he looked to his Chronometer and counted down to ten seconds. The message was relayed to the other vehicle and the groups of armed men began donning black cloth masks which had holes cut out for their eyes, mouths and the holes of their nostrils. When the countdown was completed, the doors on the back of the vehicles were opened and more than two dozen armed men piled out.

The Ogryn Guard at the front of the Red Bokha was quick to note the appearance of several armed people. Before he could even say or do anything, a pair of passing by police drones which had been hacked, turned their guns on the Ogryn and four electrified darts shot out. The Ogryn collapsed as electricity coursed through his body, it was not enough to kill him but certainly adequate for paralyzing him.

Rushing the establishment with weapons at the ready, there was nothing stopping the hit team of the Arkos Syndicate.

* * *

'Normally, I don't do no tricks with aliens, but for you baby, I think I can make an exception' said a smiling dark brown skinned human female who was strangely named "Mocha-La". Ellarian had questioned the human about her name and the response he got was "because baby, once you try some of this, you gonna be up all night long."

Noting the suggestive tone in the human's voice, Ellarian was fairly sure that this was some sort of euphemism. 'I appreciate offer… but I have no… currency' the Ranger then said, rather unsure of the wording while trying to sound friendly at the same time.

'Oh well that's too bad' said the human female in a seemingly genuine manner 'maybe another time then baby, because Mocha-La will always be around here'.

As the human female got up and went towards a group of her "sistas" as she had put it, Ellarian looked towards Merelen Cyierk who was giving him wry look. Even the short bearded creature he believed was a Squat was looking at him with some amusement.

'You sure know to treat the ladies Ellarian' said the Rogue Trader in a joking manner and a hint of mockery.

'Well its-' explained Ellarian who suddenly then stopped as he got an unusual itch on the palms of his hands. Looking to the glass doorway of the establishment, he saw the Ogryn guard slump down while a large group of armed, masked humans were entering the structure. Cursing in his native tongue while reaching for his Neuro-Disruptor which was still holstered on the side of his waist, he heard a curse from the Squat who also noticed what was going on.

The doors slid open and the masked men entered the structure with a rather large specimen leading them. The eyes of the humans within the establishment were turned towards the armed group and the leader began to loudly speak in a voice which did not seem natural, by the Ranger's guess it was mechanically modulated.

'Well hello, hello there ladies and gents!' shouted the lead masked man as he held up a large, long barreled auto gun with one hand 'tonight's main event may include blood, bullets and payback!' The other armed humans were quick to point their guns at Ellarian and his two erstwhile companions. The lead man then looked to Merelen Cyierk and loudly said 'now we can do this the easy, or the hard way, the choice is yours, girl.'

'Hey! Get your asses out of here and take it outside!' roared the Squat as he slammed his cup upon the surface.

'What are you gonna do about it stuntie?' mocked the lead man 'gonna try to bite us in the balls?' he then said which caused laughter amongst the armed men.

'How about we take a third option!' called the Rogue Trader 'you feth-heads leave before the count of three and nobody has to die tonight.'

'Ha! You and what army?' mocked the lead man as now held his gun in both hands 'as far as I can see, all you got is yourself, some alien harlot and a pint sized half-man.'

'Oh that's it!' roared the Squat who swiftly hurled a round object at the armed men and Ellarian heard one of the masked men shout with alarm "GRENADE!"

The armed men who had been inside the building leapt away from the grenade but those who were still outside began rushing to get out. At the same time, Ellarian activated his Cameleoline cloak and vacated from his seat while Merelen Cyierk jumped for cover behind the counter of where they had been drinking. The Squat on the other hand leapt off his chair and charged towards the armed men while pulling out a now activated chain-axe and a bolt pistol.

The loud _dak_ of the bolt weapon rang out and the head of one of the armed men exploded in a shower of brain matter and viscera. Weaving between vacant tables and chairs, the Ranger intended to flank their assailants who were busy flipping over tables to use as cover. Expecting to hear the loud explosion of the grenade going off, he heard nothing from the device and human soon shouted 'it's a dud!'

The Squat's Chain-Axe roared and it was soon followed by the bloody screams of one of the armed men, Ellarian glanced back to see Merelen Cyierk holding out both of her pistols and unleashing a volley of laser bolts towards the men. Stepping in close enough towards one of the men whose brought up his gun and had it sighted down on the Rogue Trader, Ellarian fired his gun and an invisible wave of electromagnetic energy which overloaded the brains and nerves of the gunman and two of his fellows.

Another of their assailants pointed his gun at Ellarian and opened fire but the Ranger had already disappeared. With his cloak to conceal him and the fleet-footed speed which was only natural for his race, Ellarian was quick to evade the hail of bullets before unleashing another electromagnetic wave which caused his attacker to drop with a convulsion. Constantly on the move while darting in and out, he took upon Khaine's Aspect of unseen death.

* * *

Slamming his chain-axe into the gut of a masked man while firing his bolt pistol at point blank range into the chest of another, Krodien roared and laughed as the white haired woman fired an accurate hail of laser red bolts from behind the bar. The girls around the Bokha were keeping their heads down or had fled, he saw the alien disappear and reappear like some sort of ghost, its pistol which did not seem to fire any sort of shots, caused the enemy to collapse and spasm violently.

Bullets were fired from the armed men and he felt the painful impact as small arms slugs struck against his chest and right pauldron which was concealed by his jacket. With the typical fortitude and stoicism of his people, Krodien was only staggered by the shots; he quickly responded by lifting his bolt pistol and firing two rounds which blew out the left leg of one man while another had a large hole blown through his chest.

A blue laser beam shot out from the second floor which had a balcony section which ringed the ground floor of the Bokha. On the Balcony which led to the "private show rooms" he saw Madam Tsvetkova wielding a Long-Las sniper rifle and angrily shouting at the masked men to get out. The lead human who had mocked him had taken cover behind a knocked over table, the large man brought his gun up to aim at the Madam but a loud sharp flash rang out from the doorway behind him and the man briefly looked back with distraction, thank the Ancestors for time-delayed explosives.

Firing his bolt pistol at the lead man, Krodien heard him shout in pain as his right arm exploded in a spray of meat, metal, blood and chemical coolant. The alien then reappeared once more on the left flank of their adversaries, its gun brought down two more of the masked men while the white haired woman gunned down several of them with rapid fire and another man was cut down by a Long-las shot. By his guess, Krodien believed that the female gunslinger was wielding two heavily modified Hellpistols, the kind of modifications that would be difficult, perhaps even illegal in the Imperium if the Mechanicus had a say in it.

Bearing his roaring axe down on another of these men and cutting the leg off of some poor bastard who screamed in agony, Krodien saw that the nerve of the group had been broken and they began to flee the premises and towards several parked vans. Some of them tried to help their injured fellows but those that did ended up getting shot by the white haired gunslinger, the Eldar or the royally pissed Madam. The sounds of gunfire soon ceased, leaving only the music of the Bokha's speakers to play while injured men made pained sounds and outside, he could hear the sound of several vehicles make a speedy escape.

Walking towards the lead man whose arm he had blown off, Krodien grimly kept his bloody axe over his shoulder while holding on to his bolt pistol. The leader who had made the remarks about Krodien's size had quickly reached for a side arm holstered on the left of his belt, the man then attempted to point the heavy gun at Krodien but the alien suddenly appeared and sharply kicked the man's hand, knocking the gun away in the process.

'Now what was that about biting you in the balls?' coldly sneered Krodien as he then holstered his pistol and held his Chain-Axe in both hands. Before the lead man could say anything, Krodien brought his axe down into the man's groin, the teeth of his axe mercilessly cut through the flak jacket and into soft flesh.


End file.
